ABSTRACT
To elicit the explanatory models (EM) of hypertension among patients in a hospital-based primary care practice in Nigeria. Patients expressed four categories of EM of hypertension: (1) perceptions of hypertension, (2) consequences, (3) effect on daily life, and (4) perception of treatment. Researcher's have used common-sense models and illness representations, concepts similar to Kleinman's explanatory models, to explore patient's beliefs about HTN and medication adherence. The objective of this study was to elicit the explanatory models of HTN among patients followed in a hospital-based primary care practice in Nigeria. Semi-structured in-depth individual interviews and focus groups addressing explanatory models of HTN were conducted with eligible patients, who were recruited from the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital medical outpatient department the primary care and general medicine practice of the hospital. Behavioral and cognitive models do not adequately account for the social and cultural variations in health behaviors.
