Relationship between social supports received from spouse and adherence to self-care behaviors in patients with high blood pressure in Qom

Since Social support received from the spouse and self-care are effective factors in controlling and preventing the complications of chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, this study conducted to determine the correlation between social support received from spouse and adherence to self-care behaviors in patients with high blood pressure in Qom.

The present study was cross-sectional (descriptive-analytical) which was performed on 211 patients with primary hypertension referring to urban community health centers using a non-probabilistic and available sampling method in 2019 in Qom city. Data collection tools included a demographic questionnaire, a self-care behavior follow-up questionnaire, the Sherborne and Stewart social support questionnaire, and a checklist for checking and recording systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and a standard hand sphygmomanometers. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 20 and by independent t-test, analysis of variance, and Pearson correlation coefficient tests.

The results showed that there was a direct and significant relationship between social support received from the spouse and components of self-care behaviors including low-salt diet (P-Value<0.01), medication regimen (P-Value=0.008), weight management (P-Value<0.001), physical activity (P-Value=0.009) and not smoking (P-Value=0.001). There is also a significant inverse relationship between social support received from spause and systolic blood pressure (P-Value=0.02) and diastolic blood pressure (P-Value=0.017).

The results of this study show that social support received from spouse should be considered as a factor affecting the level of self-care behaviors and systolic and diastolic blood pressure in patients with high blood pressure.