characteristics and palliative care needs of older indonesian adults with chronic hypertension

Background: chronic diseases like hypertension have become a global burden in the olderpopulation and are associated with high mortality rates and poor quality of life. the tenacity ofthese diseases could increase the comorbidities and impact older patients who need palliativecare (pc) services to manage the symptoms and improve their quality of life. this study aimsto determine the characteristics and determinants of pc needs of older indonesian adult patientswith chronic hypertension.methods: this cross-sectional study applied a quantitative research design. the study wasconducted in a primary healthcare facility in kolaka regency, southeast sulawesi, indonesia,from july to october 2022. the study subjects were 142 elderlies with chronic hypertension whowere recruited by the census method. the data were collected using a demographic questionnaireand the indonesian version of the supportive and pc indicators tool (spict 2019 version). thedata were analyzed with the pearson chi-square test at a significant level p<0.05 in ibm spsssoftware, version 25.results: according to the findings, 47.2% of the respondents were in the age group of 55to 64 years, most were women (55.6%), and living in rural areas (54.9%). also, most hadcomorbidities (77.5%), at least one comorbidity (66.9%), and 26.8% needed palliative care. thebivariate analysis showed that comorbidities are associated with pc needs among older adultswith chronic hypertension (p<0.05).conclusion: this study showed that comorbidity has a significant relationship with pc needs inolder patients with chronic hypertension. this condition demands the treatment team members’attention to comorbidities in patients with chronic hypertension. to enhance the results’generalizability and provide stronger evidence, it is advisable to conduct research with a largersample size.