Insights for Community Health

Summary

High blood pressure is the number one cause of death for Blacks in the United States. A major reason for the high rates of cardiovascular deaths is poor blood pressure control. Improving blood pressure control leads to large reductions in cardiovascular deaths in Blacks and can be achieved through interventions targeting self-management behaviors. Yet, despite the proven benefits of these interventions, there is little evidence of their role in community-based settings. In NYC, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) has developed Keep on Track, a volunteer-run, community program that aims to lower blood pressure of older adults through blood pressure monitoring sessions, brief counseling and health education. With support from DOHMH, lay health workers at faith-based organizations and senior centers take blood pressure readings for community members, record their readings on index cards and provide counseling to support lifestyle change and health care access. However, lay health workers administrating the program report difficulties managing the volume of tracking cards, and express interest in better tools to manage the information. To address this limitation, the primary aim of this study is to test the feasibility of implementing a Personal Health Record (PHR) system in two predominately Black churches in NYC to help lay health workers track changes in blood pressure and health behaviors of the participating congregants. The secondary aims are to evaluate the effect of the PHR system on changes in blood pressure, physical activity, weight loss, fruit and vegetable intake, and number of visits to a primary care physician from baseline to 9 months. The investigators hypothesize that congregants who enroll in the PHR system will have a greater reduction in BP; an increased intake of fruits and vegetables and levels of physical activity; weight loss; and report a great number of visits to their doctor at 9 months.

Conditions

• Hypertension

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Personal Health Record

Participants data collected during the scheduled blood pressure sessions will be uploaded to the church PHR system. Lay health workers (LHWs) will then have the capability to access the blood pressure readings and health behavior data through the Congregational Dashboard where they can display the information in easy-to-read charts and graphs that highlight the blood pressure trends across the measurements and changes in fruit and vegetable intake, level of physical activity and weight. The registry will also incorporate computerized health education modules through and evidence-based guidelines for blood pressure control and the NHLBI publications "Your Guide to Lowering Blood Pressure" and "Facts about the DASH Eating Plan."

Sponsors & Collaborators

• New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• NYU Langone Health

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Antoinette Schoenthaler, EdD · NYU School of Medicine

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2012-09-30

Primary Completion

2015-07-31

Completion

2015-07-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations