A community health worker home-based lifestyle intervention significantly reduced systolic blood pressure by an adjusted mean difference of 8.4 mm Hg compared to usual care in hypertensive patients.
RCT (n=80)
Single-blind (outcome assessors masked)
Simple random sampling
Yes
Does a community health worker home-based intervention improve blood pressure control and body composition in patients with uncontrolled hypertension in a low-income setting?
A home-based community health worker intervention significantly improved blood pressure control among hypertensive patients in a low-income setting compared to usual care.
Effect estimate: Adjusted mean difference -8.4 (95% CI -13.4 to -3.3)
Absolute Event Rate: -19% vs -7.9%
p-value: p=0.001
Abstract In Sub Saharan Africa, there is a growing burden of non-communicable diseases, which poses a big challenge to the weak health system in these resource-limited settings. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a community health workers (CHW) home-based lifestyle interventions to improve blood pressure (BP) control and body composition among hypertensive patients in low-income populations of Kiambu County, Kenya. This was a randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving 80 patients with uncontrolled high BP (systolic BP (SBP) ≥140mmHg and/or diastolic BP (DBP) ≥90) randomized to either a CHW homebased intervention or a usual care (control) arm and followed up for 6 months. The intervention involved monthly CHW home-visits for health education and audits on behavioral risk factors that affect BP. An adapted WHO stepwise questionnaire and international physical activity questionnaire was used to collect data on behavioral cardiovascular risk factors. To assess the main outcomes of BP, body mass index (BMI) and waist-height-ratio (WHtR), a survey was conducted at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. Data regarding univariate, bivariate and multivariate (repeated measurements between and within groups) analysis at 5% level of significance were analyzed using STATA 18. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) for repeated measures were used to estimate changes in BP, BMI and WHtR, and to examine the association between the CHW intervention and BP control. The study revealed that 77.5% and 92.5% of the participants in usual care and intervention groups completed the follow-up, respectively. After 6 months of follow-up, there was a reduction in the mean SBP and DBP for both arms, and reductions in BMI and WHtR only in the intervention arm. The adjusted mean reduction in SBP (-8.4 mm Hg; 95% CI, -13.4 to -3.3; P=0.001) and DBP (-5.2 mm Hg 95% CI, -8.3 to -2.0; P<0.001) were significantly higher in the intervention group compared to the control group. The proportion of participants who achieved the controlled BP target of <140/90 mm Hg was 62.2% and 25.8% for the intervention and usual care arm, respectively. The proportion with controlled BP was significantly higher in the intervention arm compared to the usual care arm after adjusting for baseline covariates (AOR 2.8, 95% CI 1.3-6.0, p=0.008). There was no significant effect of the intervention on BMI and WHtR. In conclusion, a home-based CHW intervention was significantly associated with reduction in BP among hypertensive patients compared to usual care. Future fully powered RCTs to test the effectiveness of such interventions among low-income populations are recommended.
Mbuthia et al. (Tue,) conducted a rct in Hypertension (n=80). Community health worker (CHW) home-based lifestyle intervention vs. Usual care was evaluated on Change in systolic blood pressure from baseline to 6 months (Adjusted mean difference -8.4, 95% CI -13.4 to -3.3, p=0.001). A community health worker home-based lifestyle intervention significantly reduced systolic blood pressure by an adjusted mean difference of 8.4 mm Hg compared to usual care in hypertensive patients.