Effectiveness of a family nurse-led programme on accuracy of blood pressure self-measurement: A randomised controlled trial

Aims and objectives To evaluate the effectiveness of a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP)-led programme on the degree of adherence of current recommendations on home blood pressure self-measurement (HBPM) as compared to routine care and management. Background HBPM plays an important role for monitoring hypertensive patients; however, patients' adherence to current guidelines is unsatisfactory. A nurse-led training programme in the community setting could be an effective strategy to achieve high level of patients' adherence to recommendations. Design A multicentre randomised controlled trial was carried out from September 2016 to September 2017. Methods In total, 170 patients were randomly allocated into the intervention group (n = 83) and the usual care (n = 87). All participants received usual care (written and verbal information on HBPM recommendations); subjects in the intervention group also received 1-hour training session on how to correctly self-measure BP. Clinical trial registration was done (ClinicalTrials.gov.: NCT04681703). The CONSORT checklist for randomised controlled trials was used in this study. Results At baseline, the level of adherence to the recommendation was similar in the two groups (p < .05). After 1 month, the adherence significantly increased in the intervention group, where patients were more likely to measure BP at the same hour and from the same arm, in a quiet environment, with the back and uncovered arm supported and the legs uncrossed; recording BP more than once in each measurement session; keeping a diary of blood pressure measurements; use of the appropriate cuff and proper placement of the cuff; and resting for >5 min before performing the measurement (all p < .05). Conclusions The FNP-led programme is effective in improving patients' adherence to guidelines on the correct technique to self-measure BP at home. Relevance to clinical practice This programme may be added to the existing interventions in the community setting or considered into specifically nurse-led hypertension management models.