Patient Centered Approach and Health Related Quality of Life in Essential Hypertensive Patients

Abstract

Hypertension is a common chronic disease amenable to control by adopting relevant lifestyle modifications and/or appropriate medication. The aim of the study was to assess the effect of patient centered approach on self-reported health related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with essential hypertension attending Internal Medicine outpatient clinic in Zagazig University hospital. This single blinded randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted in Zagazig university internal medicine outpatient clinic on 112 non complicated apparently healthy essential hypertensive patients without comorbidities from 45 to 65 years old randomly allocated into two groups (intervention and control 1:1). Data for this study was collected by social, biological and SF-12v2 questionnaire for both groups. Then management of the intervention group according to the patient centered approach for nine months while patients within control group received classic disease centered approach. The patients within intervention group were given an individualized medical care and tailored patient education program about essential hypertension. The outcome of disease was assessed by measuring change in blood pressure control and health related quality of life within the two groups. It has been found that patients with essential hypertension within both groups reported deteriorated HRQoL yet there was no statistically significant difference between both groups regarding HRQoL at the start of the study. By the end of the study, there was a statistically significant difference between the two study groups regarding blood pressure control and self reported health related quality of life where patients within intervention group reported statistically significant improvement in both variables. In conclusion, the patient centered approach is better than the disease centered approach in management of patients with essential hypertension.