Examining the Attitudes of Hypertension Patients Toward Using Complementary Treatments

Abstract

The present study was conducted in a cross-sectional and descriptive design to examine the attitudes of hypertension patients toward using complementary treatments. The study was conducted with 173 patients who had the diagnosis of hypertension who applied to the Cardiology Clinics of a University Health Practice and Research Hospital between 15.12.2021 and 10.03.2022. Before starting the study, permission was obtained from the ethics committee, institution, and patients. The data of the study were collected through face-to-face interviews, a questionnaire, and the Attitude Scale Toward Using Complementary Treatments (ASUCT). The score to be obtained from the scale varies between 0 and 39 and a high score indicates a positive attitude toward complementary treatments. One-Sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to evaluate the homogeneity of the data. The Student t, Mann-Whitney U test, correlation, and ANOVA tests were also used to evaluate the data, and P < .05 was considered statistically significant. It was found that 55.0% of the patients were women, 31.2% were between the ages of 44 to 56, 63.0% had other chronic diseases, and 68.2% preferred herbal applications in the management of hypertension. It was also found that the mean ASUCT score of hypertensive individuals was 21.13 ± 2.99, and there was a statistically significant relationship between the mean ASUCT score of the patients and their gender, education level, and reasons for applying to herbal therapy (P < .05). Patients frequently preferred the consumption of pomegranate syrup (43.4%), garlic (36.4%), and quince leaf tea (30.8%) as non-drug applications in the management of hypertension. It was found that the attitudes of the hypertension patients toward using complementary treatments were at a “moderate” level and there was a relationship between their level of attitude toward using complementary treatments and gender, education, and the reasons for applying herbal therapy. In this respect, it is recommended to evaluate the attitudes of hypertension patients toward using complementary treatments, to learn the practices they prefer for disease management through patient-health care professional interaction, and to support patients for hypertension management.