Family support needs for people living with hypertension

Hypertension, a non-communicable disease (NCD), poses a public health threat globally, especially in low-middleincome countries, including Ghana. Family members contribute immensely to the management of chronic diseases such as hypertension. To achieve optimal control of hypertension, a Psychoeducational programme may be adopted as a non-pharmacological strategy to complement the management of hypertension by family members. The study aimed to explore and describe the psychoeducational support needs of family members of people living with hypertension in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Qualitative, explorative and descriptive design was employed for this study and a semistructured interview method was utilised to collect data from two health facilities. Twenty-two (22) participants were purposively sampled, and face-to-face interviews, each lasting 30-60 minutes were conducted until saturation wasachieved. Qualitative content analysis (QCA) was used in analysing data. Three main themes emerged: healthcare information, education, and financial support. The respective categories of these main themes are the administration of medication, follow-up visits, monitoring of blood pressure (BP), dietary requirements, communication channel for care or emergency, education on lifestyle modification, education on medications, education on risks and complications of hypertension, education on stress and relaxation technique, education on traditional medicine, medical expenses and transportation fees for follow-up visit and National Health Insurance Scheme Services. Results: The psychoeducational support needs emerged suggesting the need to develop a programme to complement the existing programmes for managing hypertension. Recommendations: A well-structured psychoeducational programme should be developed and integrated into routine hypertension management. The programme should focus on accurate healthcare information, self-management education, and practical skills to improve family member’s care giving capacity and reduce the caregiver burden.