Southeastern Collaboration to Improve Blood Pressure Control

Study Summary

The central objective of this proposal is to rigorously compare two strategies designed to improve BP control in primary care practices serving rural Southeastern African Americans with low socioeconomic status (SES) living in the "Black Belt". In year 1, we're engaging community members (community members who have experience being community peer advisors or have high blood pressure) to develop the study interventions and protocols. In years 2-5, the investigators will test the interventions. Year 2-5, Aim 3: Enroll 80 practices and 25 African American patients with uncontrolled HTN at each practice (total n=2000) in a cluster-randomized, controlled, 4-arm pragmatic implementation trial to evaluate the three multi- component, multi-level functional interventions finalized in the UH2 phase compared with enhanced usual care. The study's 4 arms are: 1. Enhanced Usual Care: Practices are provided with educational materials and tools to enhance patient care 2. Peer Coaching: Patients enrolled in these practices will be matched with a peer coach. The peer coach helps the patient to set goals around self-management, including medications, home monitoring, and diet and exercise, and she helps the patient to strategize how to accomplish the goals, using motivational interviewing techniques 3. Practice Facilitation: Practices randomized to this arm will work with a practice facilitator. Practice facilitation is a highly customized, staged approach to helping a practice to implement process and structural changes to enhance the quality of care and improve patient and staff satisfaction 4. Peer coaching and practice facilitation: Practices randomized to this arm will receive both the peer coach intervention and the practice facilitation intervention. Practice facilitators and peer coaches will receive the same training for this hybrid intervention, but the practice facilitator change packet will add examples of activities that integrate peer coaches.

Primary Outcome

Blood pressure (BP) control is defined as systolic pressure less than 140 mm Hg and diastolic pressure less than 90 mm Hg. Difference in BP control at 12 month follow-up between trial arms. BP was assessed in the practice by a research assistant using a standardized protocol at baseline, 6, and 12 months.

Interventions

• BEHAVIORAL Enhanced usual care
• BEHAVIORAL Peer Coach
• BEHAVIORAL Practice Facilitation