Effects of a self-efficacy intervention on adherence to antihypertensive regimens

The study's primary purpose was to answer the question: If mild hypertensive individuals receive an intervention that enhances their self-efficacy for adherence to the antihypertensive regimen, will they exhibit an increase in adherent behaviors? A secondary purpose was to determine whether selected components of Pender's Health Promotion Model (HPM) have an influence on adherence. An ancillary aim was to determine whether the practice of adherent behaviors reduces hypertensives' financial expenditures for medications.;This study consisted of a two group design with repeated measures as a within subject variable. A self-efficacy intervention and a routine care intervention constituted the two groups. The convenience sample consisted of 129 nonadherent mild hypertensive individuals. Random assignment to the groups was employed. Both interventions followed the same format which consisted of four sessions spaced at four week intervals with specific content covered each time.;The following instruments were administered at the beginning and end of the study: LHCS, GHRI, ISEL, and EBBS. Self-efficacy, outcome expectancy, blood pressure, and weight were measured throughout the study. Adherence to the various aspects of the antihypertensive regimen was measured between sessions and one month after completion of the sessions.;Analysis of variance was the statistical model used to test the hypotheses. The experimental intervention did not have a significant effect on self-efficacy or adherence which prevented the testing of the mediation hypotheses concerning self-efficacy.;The lack of support for the mediation hypotheses precluded the research questions concerning the HPM variables from being answered. No significant differences were found between the two groups on the HPM variables. No significant relationships were found between the HPM variables and the adherent behaviors.;No significant mean differences were found between the two groups on financial expenditure.;The study's findings somewhat supported a relationship between self-efficacy and adherence, but an intervention derived from Bandura's theory did not influence self-efficacy or adherence. The lack of treatment effect is nonsupportive of Bandura's premise that specific strategies are required to enhance self-efficacy. It is recommended that the usefulness of Bandura's theory in this population be rethought.