Educational interventions in improving quality of life for hypertensive people: Integrative review

Abstract

Objective: to evaluate the effectiveness of educational interventions in improving the quality of life of people with arterial hypertension. Method: an integrative literature review which included studies that conducted educational interventions aimed at the hypertensive public to improve quality of life. The search was performed in the following databases: MEDLINE, LILACS, IBECS, CUMED, BDENF, SciELO and CINAHL, without restriction of language, date and sample size. For this, the following descriptors were crossed: “hipertensão” (hypertension), “educação em saúde” (health education) and “qualidade de vida” (quality of life). 619 articles were retrieved and after the selection and analysis process, a total of 10 made up this review. Data extraction and analysis were performed with the help of validated instruments and the result summarized. Results: Most studies were developed on a quasi-experimental basis, using generic instruments to measure quality of life with significant improvement after educational interventions, with group technology being the most used educational strategy. Just one study used a specific instrument to evaluate hypertensive patients. Conclusion: these results may direct the interventions to be implemented by health professionals in managing arterial hypertension. Further investigations are needed to identify and verify the most effective interventions for hypertensive patients, considering heterogeneous profiles and aiming at improving quality of life.