Effects of a family dyadic partnership program for people with hypertension in a rural community: A pilot randomised controlled trial

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of a theory-based patient-family carer partnership intervention for people with hypertension in a Chinese rural community. DESIGN: A pilot randomised controlled trial using pretest and post-test design. SETTING: Rural China PARTICIPANTS: Forty-four hypertensive patients and their family carers (family dyads) were randomly recruited from a village clinic located in China between November 2019 and January 2020. INTERVENTIONS: Participants were randomised to either an intervention group receiving a five-session patient-family carer partnership intervention over 10 weeks or a control group receiving usual care. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The feasibility and acceptability of patient-family carer partnership intervention and the changes in patients' systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and percentage of normal controlled blood pressure. RESULTS: tests, with P = .03. Two-way ANOVA results indicated its interaction (Group × Time) effects on patients' systolic blood pressure (P < .001), diastolic blood pressure (P < .001), dyadic partnership quality (P = .002), self-care (P < .001), self-efficacy (P = .02), antihypertensive drug treatment rate (P = .02), prescription adjustment (P = .03), perceived anxiety (P < .001) and health-related quality of life (EuroQol five-dimensional five-level: P = .02; EuroQol visual analogue scale: P < .001); family carers' dyadic partnership quality (P = .002), perceived depression (P = .04) and health-related quality of life (P = .02) were significant. CONCLUSION: Our findings support the feasibility and acceptability of the patient-family carer partnership intervention and indicate benefits in improving patients' blood pressure control, dyadic relationship and psychological well-being of family dyads in rural area. Further research to test the longer-term effect in a large-sized population is recommended.