Open AccessHigh Blood Pressure Medication Adherence Among Urban, African Americans in the Midwest United States
Author(s) -
Daniel J. Schober,
Moranda Tate,
Denise Rodriguez,
Todd Ruppar,
Joselyn Williams,
Elizabeth B. Lynch
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of racial and ethnic health disparities
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.644
H-Index - 21
eISSN - 2197-3792
pISSN - 2196-8837
DOI - 10.1007/s40615-020-00819-2
Subject(s) - medicine , ethnic group , blood pressure , gerontology , affect (linguistics) , intervention (counseling) , medication adherence , african american , epidemiology , disease , thematic analysis , family medicine , qualitative research , psychology , psychiatry , ethnology , communication , sociology , anthropology , history , social science
Hypertension is a chronic condition that disproportionately affects African Americans. Managing high blood pressure (HBP) requires adherence to daily medication. However, many patients with hypertension take their HBP medication inconsistently, putting them at heightened risk of heart disease. Researchers have shown that these health risks are greater for African Americans than for Caucasians. In this article, we examine barriers and facilitators of medication adherence among urban African Americans with hypertension. We interviewed 24 African Americans with hypertension (58.5% women, average age 59.5 years) and conducted a comprehensive thematic analysis. Twenty-two barriers and 32 facilitators to medication adherence emerged. Barriers included side effects and forgetting while facilitators included reminders, routines, and social support. Using this data, we developed a diagram of theme connectedness of factors that affect medication adherence. This diagram can guide multi-level HBP intervention research that targets African Americans to promote medication adherence, prevent heart disease, and reduce ethnic and racial health disparities.