Introduction:
Hypertension is uncontrolled in 50% of diagnosed adults in the US, and especially in older adults. Home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) can improve hypertension management by providing clinicians with up-to-date information on BP control and by improving patients’ adherence to prescribed medications and other healthy behaviors. MyBP is a patient-facing HBPM aide that provides video-based education and supports BP self-monitoring with recurring feedback using proactive, bidirectional, automated text messages. Summary reports are routed to primary care providers.
Hypothesis:
In this proof-of-concept, pragmatic clinical trial, we tested the hypothesis that MyBP will improve hypertension self-efficacy and lower BP in older adults.
Methods:
Community-dwelling adults ≥55 y/o with uncontrolled hypertension were recruited from primary care offices. Enrollees were provided a standard automatic BP cuff and randomized 2:1 to MyBP vs treatment-as-usual (control). Engagement with MyBP was defined as the proportion of BP reading prompts for which a reading was submitted, tracked over successive 2-week monitoring periods. Study BP data were acquired independently of MyBP from all participants by single-blind, phone-supervised home BP measurements.
Results:
Participants (N=62; 40 women, 33 Blacks, 38 without a college degree, mean age 66, mean office BP 164/91, mean # BP medications 2.6) were randomized to MyBP (41) vs. control (n=21). In the MyBP group, engagement with HBPM averaged over 80%, without notable attrition over the 5-month study period. Regression analyses revealed an interaction between baseline systolic BP and group assignment on change in systolic BP [interaction effect estimate -0.59 (-1.00, -0.19)], such that patients who had a higher baseline systolic BP and were assigned to MyBP showed a greater decline in systolic BP when compared to control patients. Hypertension self-efficacy also improved in the intervention group compared to controls [estimate 0.556 (0.104,1.008)].
Conclusions:
In this pragmatic, pilot clinical trial, older adults with hypertension used a novel mHealth technology at high levels, reported improved hypertension self-efficacy, and experienced a decline in BP if home BP was elevated at baseline.
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