What happened? Perceptions of patients with hypertension on conflicting results between self-reported adherence of medication and chemical adherence testing

Type of funding sources: None.

Hypertension is one of the most prevalent causes of death worldwide. Despite the widespread availability and efficacy of pharmacological therapy for hypertension, few patients reach their blood pressure target values. Nonadherence to antihypertensive medication is common and can lead to adverse clinical effects, such as stroke, reduced quality of life and higher health care costs. Adherence to antihypertensive medication can objectively be measured with chemical adherence testing. In clinical practice, some patients state that they are taking the medication while the chemical adherence testing does not confirm this. Understanding of this discrepancy is needed to better support these patients in their treatment decisions.

To explore the perceptions of outpatients with hypertension on conflicting results between self-reported adherence and chemical adherence testing.

An explorative generic qualitative study design is used with face-to face semi-structured interviews. The study population consists of adult patients who are diagnosed with hypertension and are treated with antihypertensive medication. Patients have had negative blood levels for one or more antihypertensive drugs after chemical adherence testing, but report to adhere to the prescribed medication advice. To achieve data saturation, 12-15 adult patients are interviewed using a topic list with open ended questions. Interviews are audio-recorded and thematically analysed according to Braun & Clarke.

At the time of this abstract submission, data collection is ongoing till the beginning of April 2023. At the time of the conference, we can present the results of our study addressing this very delicate and clinically relevant topic.

Data on the reasons for conflicting results between subjective and objective measures on medication adherence can help clinicians to optimize for patients with hypertension.