A Comparison between Multimedia and Traditional Education in Encouraging Adherence to Treatment Regimen in Patients with Hypertension

摘要

Background: Adherence to treatment regimen plays a crucial part in the prevention of the consequences of hypertension, thus identification and employment of effective educational methods to enhance patients' adherence to their treatment plans is important. Objective: The present study compares the effectiveness of multimedia and traditional methods of patient education in persuading patients with hypertension to stick to their treatment regimens. Methods: Conducted in 2019, the present study is an experimental work of research which lasted for 5 months. A convenience sample of 160 patients who visited the clinic and cardiac sections of a hospital located in the south-west of Iran was selected and then randomly divided into an intervention and a control group. The intervention consisted of multimedia education provided in 6 sessions and telephone follow-ups. The control group was given the traditional care. The research instruments were a demographics questionnaire and a medication adherence scale. Data were collected before, immediately after, and one month after the intervention. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS v. 19, independent t-test, and chi-square test. Results: The difference between the adherence to treatment regimen scores of the two groups as calculated immediately after and one month after the intervention was found to be statistically significant (P<0.001). Conclusion: Patient education via multimedia can significantly increase patients' adherence to their treatment regimens. Accordingly, it is recommended that nurses and other healthcare providers utilize this new educational approach to facilitate patient education and enhance adherence to treatment plan in patients with hypertension.