Effectiveness of multidisciplinary intervention on blood pressure control in primary health care: a randomized clinical trial

Background: Hypertension is a public health problem and a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary program based on group and individual care versus group-only care, to promote blood pressure control in hypertensive patients in primary health care. Methods: Randomized controlled clinical trial. The study was conducted within the primary health care, in two units of the Family Health Strategy, covering 11,000 individuals, in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Two hundred and 56 patients, older than 40 years old and with uncontrolled hypertension, systolic blood pressure (BP) >= 140 mmHg and/or diastolic BP >= 90 mmHg or >= 130 mmHg and/or diastolic BP >= 80 mmHg for individuals with diabetes. Eligible patients were randomly assigned to a health care program aiming for blood pressure control, with the multidisciplinary program group or with the multidisciplinary program plus personalized care group. Primary outcome measures were reduction in systolic BP from baseline to 6 months. Secondary measures included proportion of patients with systolic or diastolic BP controlled. Student t test, Pearson's chi-squared test, Fisher's exact test, Mann-Whitney U test, Wilcoxon signed-ranks test and generalized estimating equation (GEE) model were used in the analysis. Results: The baseline characteristics of participants were similar between groups. After 6 months of follow-up, systolic BP decreased markedly in both groups (Delta - 11.8 mmHg [SD, 20.2] in the multidisciplinary program group and Delta - 12.9 mmHg [SD, 19.2] in the personalized care group; p < 0.001). Similarly, we noted a significant change in diastolic BP over time in both groups (Delta - 8.1 mmHg [SD, 10.8] in the multidisciplinary program group and Delta - 7.0 mmHg [SD, 11.5] in the personalized care group; p < 0.001). Conclusions: The study demonstrates similar effectiveness of a group intervention in comparison to a personalized education program in hypertension patients to achieve BP control. These findings indicate that the intervention can be for all hypertensive patients assisted in primary health care.