[Health beliefs for the control of arterial hypertension]

Health beliefs can interfere with the adherence to arterial hypertension therapy. The aim of this descriptive-exploratory study that adopted the Model of Health Beliefs as a theoretical reference was to estimate percentages of health beliefs about the benefits of prevention and control measures of arterial hypertension and to identify the social-demographic factors associated with these beliefs. The study was conducted in a Health Center in the city of Salvador, with 106 adults self-declared as black, and with a medical diagnosis of arterial hypertension. For the interviews we used a "Scale of Health Beliefs" about 13 behaviors related to disease prevention and control measures. The data analysis was based on percentage rates, frequency of cases and scores and the social-demographic factors associated to these beliefs were analyzed based on the prevalence rate. The global analysis showed predominance in the category "beliefs about benefits" for 12 behaviors. Men and women realized different benefits from these behaviors. The socio-economically less favored strata, young adults and individuals living without a partner tended to perceive less benefits from the prevention and control measures of arterial hypertension.