[Knowledge about pharmacotherapy among hypertensive patients]

The scope of this study was to evaluate the knowledge of pharmacotherapy among users of arterial hypertension medication. A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted with adults aged 20 years or older, who were users of antihypertensive drugs dispensed by the Public Pharmacy of São Francisco de Paula in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. The study evaluated the knowledge of patients about the drug name, therapeutic indication, dose, administration routine, and duration of treatment, attributing a score (0-5). Multiple linear regression was used to investigate the relationship between the patients' knowledge and characteristics and 678 medication users were interviewed. The mean knowledge score was 3.27 (SD = 1.16). Lower age, higher schooling, Caucasian, better self-reported health and lower number of prescribed drugs were associated with higher knowledge scores. It was observed that the patients' knowledge of all the aspects evaluated is limited, a result that could compromise the correct and safe use of the drugs, and suggesting the need for better counseling and follow-up of users, to control this morbidity.