A Study on Therapeutic Compliance of Hypertensive Patients in a Rural Health Subcenter

일개 농촌지역 보건지소 고혈압 환자의 치료지속성

Hypertension is the most frequent disease of chronic circulatory diseases and major intermediate cause or risk of the cerebrovascular disease which is a leading cause of death in Korea. Therefore, management of hypertension is an important issue in Korean healthcare. Especially, therapeutic compliance of hypertensives is very important because the hypertensive patients should receive anti-hypertensive treatment as long as the condition exists. However, many patients drop out of treatment, which is a major problem that needs to be solved through a hypertension control program. This study was carried out to provide basic data and counter measule for the hypertension control program in the community which aimed to keep the patients receiving treatment continuously. In order to investigate compliance of hypertensive patients during three months follow-up and the rate of control of hypertension, the data were collected during February, 2001, by reviewing medical records of 295 hypertensive patients who had been registered to Gunnam-myeon health subcenter before November, 2000. The author also study the dropout reasons by interviewing 58 patients among 68 dropout patients. The results were as follows: 1. Among the 295 subjects, 108(36.6%) were male and 187(63.4%) were female. Statistically, female hypertensives had a higher mean age than male(64.6 vs 66.3, p<0.05). 2. The 54.9% of the patients took anti-hypertensive medicine continuously for the past three months. And 19.3% had drug intermittently, and 25.8% dropped out of treatment. 3. Among several variables, such as sex, age, health insurance, the time taken from a patient's village to the health subcenter, only the last one was found to be significantly related to therapeutic compliance in the contingency table analysis. 4. The dropout reasons by multiple response were as follows, 'no symptom or no problem' (23.9%), 'change to other hospitals'(19.4%), 'geographical barrier'(17.9%), 'change to a neighborhood drugstore' (14.9%), 'immobility'(7.5%), 'economic barrier'(6.0%), 'unsatisfactory services of the health subcenter'(4.4%). 5. The mean blood pressure of 295 subjects was $144.9{\pm}12.9/86.88{\pm}8.6mmHg$. 6. The 32.5% of the subjects were controlled below 140/90mmHg. Conclusions: In order to improve the low rates of treatment and control of hypertension in rural hypertensives, a more active and systematic hypertension control program, including out-reaching follow-up management, is required in rural area. Especially, for health education of hypertensive patients, emphasis should placed on correcting wrong attitude toward hypertension.

본 연구는 일개 보건지소에 등록된 고혈압 환자의 치료율 및 관리율을 구하고 치료지속성과 관련성이 있는 변수를 파악하고 치료중단 이유를 조사하기 위하여 2000년 11월 이전에 군남면 보건지소에 등록되어 치료받고 있는 고혈압 환자 295명을 대상으로 하여, 의무기록조사와 전화설문조사를 병행하여 실시되었다. 그 결과는 다음과 같다. 1. 대상자 295명중 남자가 108명(36.6%), 여자가 187명 (62.7%)이었으며 평균연령은 남자 64.6세, 여자 66.3 세로 여성에서 더 높았다(p<0.05). 2. 대상자의 54.9%가 지속적인 치료를 받는 것으로 조사되었고, 간헐적 치료군이 19.3%, 치료중단군이 25.8%였다. 3. 성, 연령, 의료보장, 거주지 등 연구대상자의 특성중 거주지로부터 보건지소까지 이동시 소요되는 시간만이 치료지속성과 통계적으로 유의한 관련성이 있었다(p<0.01). 3. 치료중단의 이유로는 증상 또는 몸의 불편함이 없어서가 23.9%를 차지하였고 그 다음으로 타의료기관 이용(18.4%), 교통의 불편(17.9%), 약국 이용(14.9%), 거동 불가능(7.5%), 경제적인 이유(6.0%), 보건지소 서비스에 불만족(4.4%) 순이었다. 4. 전체 대상자 295명의 평균 치료혈압은 $144.9{\pm}12.9/86.9{\pm}8.6mmHg$이었고, 이들 중 평균 치료혈압 이 140/90mmHg 미만으로 적절히 조절되는 환자는 32.5%였다. 이러한 연구결과를 종합해 볼 때, 보건지소 고혈압 환자들의 낮은 치료율, 관리율을 개선하기 위해서는, 적극적인 추후관리와 고혈압에 대한 환자의 잘못된 인식을 교정해주는 효과적인 보건교육을 포함하는 보다 체계적인 고혈압 관리 사업이 요구된다고 하겠다.