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Patient Empowerment Through Community-Based Hypertension Educational Programme in the West of Ireland

  • Medicine
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Abstract

Hypertension is an increasingly prevalent condition in Ireland, affecting in excess of 50% of those over 50 years of age. While many of them undergo adequate clinical treatment, the standard of blood pressure control still remains sub-optimal mainly due to poor medication adherence fuelled by poor awareness level. The main objective of the study was to explore the impact of a structured hypertension educational intervention on patient knowledge, lifestyle behaviours and blood pressure control. Subjects for this study were recruited from disadvantaged/underserved communities in Mayo, Ireland. A multidisciplinary team comprising of specialist nurses, physiotherapist, dietitian, cardiovascular consultants and research assistants were responsible for screening and recruiting participants, collecting patient data and delivering the educational programme. Eligible participants (adults of 40 years and older) with high blood pressure were randomly assigned to either a control group or an intervention group. The control group were given standard care which included blood pressure and body mass index (BMI) measurements, lifestyle guidance and referral to general practitioner in accordance with European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines. The interventional group received an educational session to improve knowledge and understanding of hypertension. A follow-up assessment was conducted for all participants 4–6 months after the educational interventional programme. A total of 102 participants were included in this study. Baseline records showed no significant difference in gender proportion, mean age, mean BMI, mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) between control and intervention groups. At the follow-up assessment, a statistical reduction of mean SBP (p=0.007) and mean DBP (p=0.004) was observed in the intervention group in comparison to baseline records along with a significant increase in self-reported weekly exercise time, reduction in the number of active smokers and units of alcohol consumed weekly. Intervention group subjects had greater blood pressure reductions (mean decrease in mmHg and absolute percentage reduction) compared to control group subjects for each of the four blood pressure indicators. Providing a tailored education to individuals with hypertension can positively impact on hypertension control, knowledge and self-care management within community-based settings.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to express their gratitude to all the participants, nurses and administrators at the Croí Heart and Stroke Centre, Galway, Ireland.

Funding

This work was funded by an unrestricted educational grant from Global Medtronic Philanthropic Foundation. Dr. Haroon Zafar was supported by Science Foundation Ireland ‘Technology Innovation Development Award’ (Grant number: 18/TIDA/6017) and Irish Research Council ‘New Foundations Grant 2018 and 2020’.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cardiovascular Research & Innovation Centre, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland

    Haroon Zafar, Ritasree Sengupta, Ruth Sharif & Faisal Sharif

  2. Lambe Institute for Translational Research, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland

    Haroon Zafar, Ritasree Sengupta, Ruth Sharif & Faisal Sharif

  3. BioInnovate Ireland, Galway, Ireland

    Haroon Zafar & Faisal Sharif

  4. Croí – The West of Ireland Cardiac Foundation, Galway, Ireland

    Patricia Hall, Ailish Houlihan & Irene Gibson

  5. National Institute for Prevention and Cardiovascular Health, Galway, Ireland

    Patricia Hall & Irene Gibson

  6. School of Medicine, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland

    Brendan Dineen

  7. Community Healthcare West, Health Services Executive, Galway, Ireland

    Ailish Houlihan

  8. Department of Cardiology, University Hospital Galway, Galway, Ireland

    Faisal Sharif

  9. CÚRAM-SFI Centre for Research in Medical Devices, Galway, Ireland

    Faisal Sharif

Authors
  1. Haroon Zafar
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  2. Patricia Hall
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  3. Ritasree Sengupta
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  4. Brendan Dineen
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  5. Ailish Houlihan
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  6. Ruth Sharif
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  7. Irene Gibson
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  8. Faisal Sharif
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Contributions

HZ, IG, PH, RS and FS drafted the manuscript. PH and AH performed the data collection. IG, PH, HZ and FS conceived and designed the study. HZ, RS and BD performed the statistical analysis. All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Haroon Zafar.

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Ethical Statement

The ethical approval was granted from Galway University Hospitals Clinical Research Ethics Committee. The written informed consents were provided by all the subjects who participated in the study.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Zafar, H., Hall, P., Sengupta, R. et al. Patient Empowerment Through Community-Based Hypertension Educational Programme in the West of Ireland. SN Compr. Clin. Med. 3, 1096–1105 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42399-021-00846-y

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