Periodic home visits by nurses or pharmacists reduced the likelihood of dropping out of care compared to routine care alone, with control patients having higher odds of dropping out (OR 2.7).
RCT (n=171)
Do social support strategies such as periodic home visits reduce dropping out of care in treated hypertensive patients?
Periodic home visits by nurses or pharmacists significantly reduce the likelihood of hypertensive patients dropping out of care, particularly among high-risk individuals.
Odds Ratio: 2.7
Predictors of dropping out of care were examined for 171 treated hypertensive patients enrolled in a randomized trial of social support strategies designed to improve compliance and blood pressure control. Control patients who continued to receive routine care were more than twice as likely to drop out as patients who received routine care and periodic home visits by nurses or pharmacists (odds ratio OR = 2.7). The combination of home visits and a second intervention, having family members monitor patients' blood pressure and compliance behavior, was no more effective than home visits alone (OR = 1.1). The home visits intervention was one of six variables identified by a stepwise regression as significant predictors of dropping out. Patients with four or more high-risk characteristics constituted 15% of the sample but contributed almost half (46%) of the dropouts. Targeting support strategies at high-risk patients may be a cost-effective means of reducing uncontrolled hypertension.
Strogatz et al. (Sat,) conducted a rct in Hypertension (n=171). Periodic home visits by nurses or pharmacists vs. Routine care alone was evaluated on Dropping out of care (OR 2.7). Periodic home visits by nurses or pharmacists reduced the likelihood of dropping out of care compared to routine care alone, with control patients having higher odds of dropping out (OR 2.7).