TY - JOUR
T1 - Commonsense illness beliefs, adherence behaviors, and hypertension control among African Americans
AU - Hekler, Eric B.
AU - Lambert, Jennifer
AU - Leventhal, Elaine
AU - Leventhal, Howard
AU - Jahn, Eric
AU - Contrada, Richard J.
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements This study was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Aging: P20AG012072.
PY - 2008/10
Y1 - 2008/10
N2 - Hypertension, particularly among African Americans, has been increasing in importance in the past 10 years. One aspect of this problem is poor disease management. This study examined illness beliefs, behaviors, and hypertension control among 102 African American outpatients. Participants were interviewed about their commonsense beliefs concerning hypertension and its management in accordance with Leventhal's commonsense model of self-regulation (CSM). Also assessed were medication adherence, stress-reducing behaviors, and lifestyle behaviors recommended for blood pressure control. Blood pressure was measured at about the time of interviewing. Results indicated that endorsement of a medical belief model of hypertension (i.e., caused and controlled by factors such as diet, age, and weight) was cross-sectionally associated with lower systolic blood pressure, a relationship that was statistically mediated by lifestyle behaviors (e.g., cut down salt, exercise). Endorsement of a stress belief model (i.e., stress is the main factor in hypertension cause and control) was associated with engagement in stress-related behaviors but not with blood pressure. These results further support the utility of the CSM for understanding patients' disease management behaviors.
AB - Hypertension, particularly among African Americans, has been increasing in importance in the past 10 years. One aspect of this problem is poor disease management. This study examined illness beliefs, behaviors, and hypertension control among 102 African American outpatients. Participants were interviewed about their commonsense beliefs concerning hypertension and its management in accordance with Leventhal's commonsense model of self-regulation (CSM). Also assessed were medication adherence, stress-reducing behaviors, and lifestyle behaviors recommended for blood pressure control. Blood pressure was measured at about the time of interviewing. Results indicated that endorsement of a medical belief model of hypertension (i.e., caused and controlled by factors such as diet, age, and weight) was cross-sectionally associated with lower systolic blood pressure, a relationship that was statistically mediated by lifestyle behaviors (e.g., cut down salt, exercise). Endorsement of a stress belief model (i.e., stress is the main factor in hypertension cause and control) was associated with engagement in stress-related behaviors but not with blood pressure. These results further support the utility of the CSM for understanding patients' disease management behaviors.
KW - African American
KW - Disease management
KW - Hypertension
KW - Illness beliefs
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=51849114542&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=51849114542&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10865-008-9165-4
DO - 10.1007/s10865-008-9165-4
M3 - Article
C2 - 18618236
AN - SCOPUS:51849114542
SN - 0160-7715
VL - 31
SP - 391
EP - 400
JO - Journal of Behavioral Medicine
JF - Journal of Behavioral Medicine
IS - 5
ER -