Self-Measured Blood Pressure Monitoring: Program Planning, Implementation, and Lessons Learned From 5 Federally Qualified Health Centers in Hawai‘i

Self-Measured Blood Pressure Monitoring: Program Planning, Implementation, and Lessons Learned From 5 Federally Qualified Health Centers in Hawai‘i

PROGRAM EVALUATION BRIEF — Volume 17 — June 25, 2020

David A. Stupplebeen, PhD1; Catherine M. Pirkle, PhD1; Tetine L. Sentell, PhD1; Blythe M. I. Nett, MPH2; Lindsey S. K. Ilagan, MS2; Bryan Juan, MPH3; Jared Medeiros, APRN4; L. Brooke Keliikoa, DrPH1 (View author affiliations)

Suggested citation for this article: Stupplebeen DA, Pirkle CM, Sentell TL, Nett BMI, Ilagan LSK, Juan B, et al. Self-Measured Blood Pressure Monitoring: Program Planning, Implementation, and Lessons Learned From 5 Federally Qualified Health Centers in Hawai‘i. Prev Chronic Dis 2020;17:190348. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd17.190348external icon.

PEER REVIEWED

On This Page

• Abstract
• Background
• Purpose and Objectives
• Evaluation Methods
• Results
• Implications for Public Health Practice
• Acknowledgments
• Author Information
• References
• Tables

Summary

What is already known on this topic?

Self-measured blood pressure monitoring programs (BPMPs) are effective in helping people with hypertension control their blood pressure.

What is added by this report?

This article explores the experiences of 5 Hawaiʻi-based Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in implementing self-measured BPMPs. Because no nationally recognized self-measured BPMP curriculum existed at the time of this evaluation, the purpose of this article was to understand how FQHCs designed and implemented self-measured BPMPs in practice.

What are the implications for public health practice?

Policy makers, funding organizations, and intervention designers can draw on these experiences to make improvements to self-measured BPMPs in terms of support and toward the development of a standardized intervention curriculum.

Abstract

Self-measured blood pressure monitoring programs (BPMPs) are effective at controlling hypertension. We examined implementation of self-measured BPMPs at 5 Hawaiʻi-based Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). In a process evaluation of these programs, we found that FQHCs developed protocols for self-measured BPMP recruitment and enrollment and provided additional supports to account for their patients’ psychosocial needs to achieve blood pressure control, such as lifestyle change education and opportunities through referrals either to on-site or other programs (eg, on-site gym, tobacco cessation program). Common barriers across sites included insufficient material support for blood pressure monitors and data collection; funding, which affects program sustainability; and the lack of an “off-the-shelf” self-measured BPMP intervention. Policy makers and funding organizations should address these issues related to self-measured BPMPs to ensure implementation success.