Achieving Blood Pressure Control Together Study

Summary

African Americans represent a particularly vulnerable subgroup of persons with hypertension, as they are more likely than Whites to have hypertension, equally as likely to be aware of it and to be treated for it, but less likely to achieve blood pressure control while receiving treatment. African Americans are also more likely than Whites to suffer end organ damage as a result of hypertension. Patients' hypertension self-management behaviors (including adherence to prescribed care, self-blood pressure monitoring, lifestyle changes, and shared medical decision-making) represent a cornerstone of hypertension therapy. Evidence suggests some African Americans with hypertension may experience difficulties carrying out positive self-management behaviors, in part due to cultural beliefs and practices, knowledge and perceptions regarding the nature and consequences hypertension, and lack of systems to support ongoing engagement in prescribed care within their communities. Substantial evidence has demonstrated the important role of family and community support in improving patients' management of a variety of chronic illnesses.

The goal of this study is to rigorously test the effectiveness of hypertension self-management interventions that engage African American patients, their families, and their community-level resources to improve African American patients' blood pressure.

We hypothesize patients' hypertension control rates may be improved when combining community health worker self-management support with other types of hypertension self-management skills training.

Conditions

• Hypertension

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Community Health Worker (CHW) Intervention

Receipt of training in use of home blood pressure machine, education about diet, exercise and physical activities to lower blood pressure, and continued support from a trained community health worker.

BEHAVIORAL

Communication Skills Training

Receipt of "Do My PART" (P-Prepare for Visit, A- Act at visit, R-Review doctor's recommendations, T-Take home recommendations)communication skills training.

BEHAVIORAL

Problem Solving Skills Training

Receipt of a 9-week group based self-management intervention designed to help patients identify and solve self-identified barriers to hypertension control.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

  collaborator NIH

• Johns Hopkins University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Leigh E Boulware, MD · Johns Hopkins University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2013-09-30

Primary Completion

2015-08-31

Completion

2015-08-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations