Illness Perception, Health Literacy, and Medication Adherence in Hypertensive Patients and Their Spouses: An Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediation Model Approach

A bidirectional actor-partner effect exists between illness perception and medication adherence among hypertensive patients and their spouses. Health literacy plays a significant mediating role in these relationships. These findings suggest that clinical interventions should target both patients and their spouses simultaneously, enhancing health literacy, strengthening disease knowledge, improving illness perception, and thereby promoting better medication adherence.