Effects of a patient-centered communication program on autonomy and self-management behaviors among older persons with Hypertension

Abstract

Hypertension is a chronic disease with a highest incidence rate and is a significant cause of death among older persons. Self-management support in this population is an important strategy for disease control and prevention of severe complications. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) aimed to investigate the effect of patient-centered communication program on autonomy and self-management behaviors among older persons with hypertension attending an internal medicine clinic at a university hospital. Sixty participants were selected based on the inclusion criteria and were randomly assigned into equal-sized experimental and control arms. The experimental arm received a patient-centered communication program, while the control arm received usual communication from the hospital staff. Data were collected through interviews before the intervention, at the program ended and 3 months after program completion. The data collection instruments were the Maastricht Personal Autonomy Questionnaire (MPAQ), and Self-Management Behaviors Questionnaire, which had acceptable content validity and reliability. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, repeated measures ANOVA and independent t-test.