Working With Veterans Organizations to Improve Blood Pressure

Summary

The primary purpose of this project is to establish the efficacy of a novel peer support intervention to reduce hypertension among members of veteran service organizations (VSOs). Specifically, we plan to demonstrate that veterans participating in a peer support intervention, as opposed to a purely didactic educational program, will have better blood pressure (BP) control, increased engagement in blood pressure lowering activities (such as exercise), and a more active stance as patients.

Conditions

• Hypertension

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Peer Led

Post provided with blood pressure cuffs, pedometers and scale. Two post members trained as peer leaders who encourage post members to take positive steps to improve BP. Peer leader training involves 20 hours of training over 12 months, telephone/email access to clinical experts and educational materials to share with post members.

BEHAVIORAL

Seminar

Post provided with blood pressure cuffs, pedometers and scale. Post members, including study participants invited to didactic sessions on cardiovascular health.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Medical College of Wisconsin

  collaborator OTHER

• Veterans of Foreign Wars USA

  collaborator OTHER

• Vietnam Veterans of America

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• National Association of Black Veterans

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Korea Veterans of America, Inc.

  collaborator OTHER

• Disabled American Veterans

  collaborator OTHER

• AmVETS

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America

  collaborator OTHER

• The American Legion Department of Wisconsin

  collaborator OTHER

• Wisconsin Elks Association (a branch of The Benevolent and Protective order of Elks of the United States of America)

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• US Department of Veterans Affairs

  lead FED

Principal Investigators

• Jeffrey C Whittle, MD MPH · Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center, Milwaukee, WI

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2008-02-29

Primary Completion

2010-08-31

Completion

2010-12-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations