Barriers to self-care in elderly people with hypertension: a qualitative study

Purpose Hypertension is the most common chronic disease throughout the world. Self-care is the key criteria in determining the final course of the disease. However, the majority of elderly people do not observe self-care behaviors. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the experiences of elderly people with hypertension in order to understand the barriers of their self-care behaviors. Design/methodology/approach This is a qualitative study with a conventional content analysis approach conducted in Tehran, Iran in 2017. Data collection was done among 23 participants – 14 elderly people; 6 cardiologists, geriatric physicians and nurses working in the cardiovascular ward; and 3 caregivers – who were selected by purposeful sampling. Using semi-structured, face-to-face interviews, data collection was continued until data saturation. Findings Three main categories, including attitude limitations, inefficient supportive network and desperation, all showed barriers to self-care by the experiences of elderly people with hypertension. Originality/value Lack of knowledge of the disease and its treatment process is one of the main barriers to self-care in elderly people with hypertension. Deficient supportive resources along with economic and family problems exacerbate the failure to do self-care behaviors.