| Abstract [eng] |
In Lithuania, the incidence of arterial hypertension is higher than in other developed European or world countries. This situation may be caused by a lack of information or awareness of the disease, inadequate patient information, and limited knowledge of the disease. Treatment of arterial hypertension is a systematic and lifelong process, and it is important to determine the impact of disease awareness and knowledge on patients health-related quality of life. The aim of research – to determine the connections between health-related quality of life, perception, and knowledge of the disease in patients with arterial hypertension. The methods of research. A quantitative study was performed. Instrument used - questionnaire consisting of 3 questionnaires: ,,Arterial hypertension knowledge level scale”; ,,Disease Perception Questionnaire”; ,,Health-Related Quality of Life Questionnaire” (SF-36). The sample consisted of 389 respondents. Descriptive data analysis was performed with the statistical software package SPSS 17.0.1 for Windows. The research was conducted in accordance with ethical principles. The main results. The results of the study showed that the subjects were sufficiently aware of their disease control (4.04 ± 0.61 points) and their health risk (3.99 ± 0.73 points). In the overall study population, the overall knowledge of arterial hypertension ranged from 0 to 22 points, averaging 16.87 ± 3.70 points out of a possible 22 points. The analysis of men's and women's knowledge of arterial hypertension showed a significant difference - women's knowledge was significantly better than men's (16.09 ± 3.90 points for men and 17.53 ± 3.89 points for women: t-3.89 p) <0.001. An analysis of the perception, disease knowledge, and health-related quality of life factors in patients with arterial hypertension has shown that the quality of life is negatively influenced by disease difficulties and positively influenced by a better understanding of the need for disease control. Better assessments of all aspects of quality of life related to physical health as well as vigor / vitality are associated with a better knowledge of arterial hypertension. Conclusion. Knowledge and understanding of the disease affects health-related quality of life differently. Patients with better knowledge of the disease rated health-related quality of life better, but those with a better understanding of the disease rated the quality of life worse. |
