Individualized Nursing Intervention: Its Effect on Enhancing Patients’ Adherence to Hypertensive Treatment Plan

Background: Hypertension is one of the leading causes of death or disability. Treatment plan
of hypertension is a combination of antihypertensive medications, and adoption of healthy life
style. Non-adherence to treatment plan is a growing concern to healthcare systems. Therefore,
several researches were conducted to investigate factors that might lead to non-adherence to
treatment plan as well effect of individualized nursing intervention to improve patients’
adherence to such treatment plan. Aim of the study: This study aimed to evaluate effect of
individualized nursing intervention on enhancing patients’ adherence to hypertensive treatment
plan. Method: A quasi experimental study design was used to conduct this study in medical
wards in one of the governmental hospitals. A purposeful sampling technique was used
according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Eighty four patients participated in this study.
Three tools were used for data collection as follows: First tool; patient's demographic data
assessment tool. Second tool; self-administered questionnaire tool, to assess factors affecting
patients’ adherence toward hypertensive treatment plan. Third tool; Hill-Bone Compliance to
High Blood Pressure Therapy Scale, this tool was used twice before and after delivering
individualized nursing intervention. Results: Revealed that, 57% of the studied sample their
adherence were affected by some factors related to the medications, and nearly two third of
them their adherence were affected by personal and financial factors. Also, the more
increasing in age the more increasing non-adherence to treatment plan; this indicates that the
factors affecting young age are different from those of the old age. Patient’s adherence toward
hypertensive treatment plan significantly improved after delivering the individualized nursing
intervention that copes with age related factors and all other individualized ones. Conclusion:
The current study proved that individualized nursing intervention is significantly effective on
enhancing patients’ adherence to hypertensive treatment plan through identifying and
managing factors that hinder each patient to be adherent to the described treatment plan.
Recommendation: In the light of the study results, the researchers recommended to conduct
further studies that assess every age group separately as the factors and problems which hinder
their adherence to hypertensive treatment plan among young age were completely different
than those of the old age, as well to increase the number of the study sample to generalize the
results, and to encourage nurses to follow the individualized care planning approach with their
patients.