Patient perspectives on family participation in the treatment of hypertension

Abstract

This study aimed to understand how patients with hypertension perceive their family's influence on adherence and/or non-adherence to treatment. This descriptive, qualitative research was carried out in the city of Maringá, in the Brazilian state of Paraná. Data were collected at the homes of 18 respondents through semi-structured interviews, during January and February 2012. The respondents' statements were submitted to thematic content analysis. The findings showed that for some patients, the family was a facilitating agent of adherence to treatment by encouraging self-care practices. When families were not perceived as such, it was because the patients felt responsible for self-control of the disease. It was observed that stressful situations reduced self-care practices, and many patients did not receive family support to the degree that they wanted. The study concludes that some participants regarded the family to be a facilitator of adherence to the treatment of hypertension; however, others lacked family support.