The effect of BATHE interview technique on adherence to hypertension treatment in primary care: Open-label, parallel group, randomized controlled trial

Duygu Atalı Cicek, Makbule Neslisah Tan, Vildan Mevsim

Keywords: hypertension, bathe technique, therapy adherence , primary care

Background:
BATHE is a short therapeutic interview technique developed for use by primary care physicians. It has been shown to be effective in changing behavior. It is important to show that it can be used to increase adherence to treatment with hypertension.

Research questions:
Does the intervention using BATHE short therapeutic interview technique have an effect on adherence to hypertension treatment in primary care?

Method:
The research was conducted as an open-label, parallel group, randomized-controlled trial on patients with hypertension. 86 patients were included in the study. The study was completed with 41 intervention and 42 control patients. The intervention was done face to face in the 1st and 6th months, and online in the 3rd month. The BATHE technique was applied to the intervention group in each interview. The control group continued their routine therapy. BP were measured in both groups, and the Scale for Evaluating the Success of Treatment Compliance and Lifestyle Change in Hypertensive Individuals (HTUYTD) and Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS) were applied at 0 and 6 months. The data were analyzed by descriptive analyses and t-test for groups.

Results:
In the initial evaluation there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups for blood pressure (BP) and scale scores (p<0.05). The intervention and control group were evaluated in the 6th month; In the intervention group, the mean BP was 129.0±13.49/77.2 ± 7.86 mmHg, while the mean BP in the control group was 136,3±14,55/80,8±8,74 mmHg. The mean HTUYTD scale score was 80.41±4.50, the mean MMAS score was 5.76±0.69 in the intervention group, and the mean HTUYTD scale score was 74.52±7.00, the mean MMAS score was 4.90±1.37 in the control group (p<0.05).

Conclusions:
The intervention using the BATHE short therapeutic interview technique was found to be effective in increasing adherence to hypertension treatment and reducing blood pressure in patients with hypertension.

Points for discussion:
What other statistical analyzes can be used?