Knowledge of disease condition and medications among hypertension patients in Lesotho

Abstract

This study evaluated the levels of knowledge of hypertension and the associated medications among hypertension patients in Lesotho and assessed the significance of these indicators on hypertension treatment outcomes. About 81% (n ¼ 212) of the patients had hypertension monocondition while the remaining had multiple chronic conditions. Seventy-six percent of the patients had uncontrolled hypertension. Nearly 36% had inadequate knowledge about hypertension while 44% had inade- quate knowledge about their medicines. In total, 52.4% of the patients defaulted appointment dates while 64.6% failed to take their medications as prescribed at least once. Inadequate knowledge of antihypertensive medicines was significantly associated (P ¼ .028) with having uncontrolled hypertension. Inadequate knowledge of antihypertensive medicines is an important determinant of uncontrolled hypertension. Improving the knowledge of hypertension and the associated medica- tions is an important intervention required in this population.