Effect of the home care training program on the adherence to treatment of hypertensive patients referred to comprehensive health service centers in Iran: A pre-test and post-test, randomized controlled trial

High blood pressure is one of the most important modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Nowadays, poor adherence to the treatment of chronic diseases such as hypertension is still a global problem. Bearing this in mind, this study investigates the effect of home care training programs on adherence to treatment of high blood pressure patients. The present research is a randomized controlled trial with a pre-test-post-test design and a control group. It selected 72 patients with high blood pressure who were referred to comprehensive health service centers in Qaen county, Iran. It met the conditions for entering the study by sampling at convenience and then assigned them to intervention and control groups using a table of random numbers. Data were collected through the treatment adherence perception questionnaire (TAPQ) before and after training in two control and intervention groups. Statistical analyses were performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26, including descriptive and analytical tests. The average age of the intervention and control groups was 64.10 (standard deviation [SD]=15.04) and 63.86 (SD=13.45) years, respectively (P<0.05). There is no statistically significant difference in the average total score of treatment adherence in the intervention and control groups before training (P=0.977). This mean was different between the two groups after training (P=0.002). The results of the multiple linear regression model showed a statistically significant relationship between the adherence to treatment score and the type of insurance, as well as high monthly income (P<0.05). Home care training interventions can increase treatment adherence and improve its internal components. Therefore, teaching these behaviors is usable as a low-cost and effective way to improve the health of patients with high blood pressure.