AHRQ Innovations Exchange | Culturally Appropriate Videos Share Stories of Individuals With Hypertension, Leading to Improvements in Blood Pressure in Inner-City African Americans

Culturally Appropriate Videos Share Stories of Individuals With Hypertension, Leading to Improvements in Blood Pressure in Inner-City African Americans

Summary A hypertension storytelling program provided low-income, inner-city African Americans, who had controlled and uncontrolled hypertension, with three culturally appropriate videos that encouraged behavior change to improve hypertension control. Given to patients at 3-month intervals, each video presented individuals from the patient population describing how they dealt with the challenges of living with high blood pressure. The videos also provided educational content on hypertension. The program produced significant, sustained improvements in blood pressure in patients with previously uncontrolled hypertension. Developed as a randomized controlled trial, the program is no longer in use. However, Cooper Green Mercy Hospital plans to run the videos in several of its outpatient waiting rooms. Evidence Rating (What is this?) Strong: The evidence consists of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) that included 299 patients with hypertension who were randomly assigned to receive the DVDs or continue receiving usual care. Separate random assignments were performed for patients with controlled and uncontrolled hypertension.

Developing Organizations

Cooper Green Mercy Hospital; University of Alabama School of Medicine
Worcester, MAend do

Date First Implemented

2006

Patient Population

Race and Ethnicity > Black or African American; Vulnerable Populations > Impoverished; Racial minorities; Urban populationsend pp

full-text:
AHRQ Innovations Exchange Culturally Appropriate Videos Share Stories of Individuals With Hypertension, Leading to Improvements in Blood Pressure in Inner-City African Americans