Exploring Older Adults’ Internalizations And Misconceptions Regarding Antihypertensive Medication Management

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is an asymptomatic cardiovascular condition common with increasing age that must be controlled with proper management behaviors, such as adherence to prescribed antihypertensive medications. Unfortunately, older adults may struggle with consistent and effective management of this medication specifically and the disease generally, which can lead to poorer health outcomes. The goal of the study was to investigate older adults’ antihypertensive medication management using the Illness Representation Model as a lens to identify potential misconceptions that may contribute to medication management. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 40 older adults regarding management routines, hypertension knowledge, perceived nonadherence contributors, and perspectives related to their illness. We identified numerous misconceptions regarding hypertension knowledge, disease severity, as well as perceived adherence performance that may contribute to challenges older adults face with maintaining antihypertensive medication adherence. Moreover, these findings inform the need for and design of effective educational tools for improving antihypertensive medication adherence.