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

Valentina Simonetti, Dania Comparcini*, Marco Tomietto, Daniele Pavone, Maria Elena Flacco, Giancarlo Cicolini

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)
12 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

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.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2409-2419
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Clinical Nursing
Volume30
Issue number15-16
Early online date19 Apr 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Aug 2021
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • home blood pressure measurement
  • hypertension
  • nurse led-intervention
  • randomised controlled trial
  • nurse-led intervention

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