Abstract P192: Psychosocial Correlates of Adherence to Non-pharmacological Therapy: An Examination of Baseline Results From the SisterTalk Adhere Intervention for Black Women

Abstract

Significance: Non-pharmacological treatment for blood pressure, such as dietary and Physical Activity (PA) adherence, is a key determinant of effective blood pressure management. Psychosocial variables such as self-efficacy, outcome expectations and motivation to engage in health behavior have been reported to be predictors of non-pharmacological adherence. However, few studies have studied these constructs among minority and at-risk populations such as hypertensive Black American women. Identifying psychosocial correlates of adherence is key to the development of efficacious interventions to improve adherence and overall health outcomes. Methods: We examined baseline measures (n = 323) of a sample of self-reported hypertensive Black women from SisterTalk Adhere , a randomized controlled trial to promote weight loss for hypertension control. Independent variables include (1) self-efficacy, (2) outcome expectations and (3) motivation for health behavior (further divided into PA and diet domain specific) Dependent variables are dietary and PA non-pharmacological adherence (operationalized as “none/some/most/all of the time” for diet and PA adherence in the past 4 weeks). Results: The mean age of the sample was 52.17±10.32. Regression analyses revealed that age was significantly associated with dietary adherence ( p = .037). Dietary self-efficacy and positive outcome expectations from healthy eating were significantly associated with dietary adherence (both p < .001). Motivation for healthy eating was also significantly associated with dietary adherence ( p = .043). Self-efficacy for PA and positive outcome expectations from PA were significantly associated with PA adherence ( p = .006 and p < .001 respectively). Motivation for PA was not found to be associated with PA adherence. Conclusion: Results suggest that self-efficacy, outcome expectations and motivation for health behavior may be important targets to improve engagement in health behavior and non-pharmacological adherence among hypertensive Black women.