329215
Using Community Health Workers to Promote Hypertension Self-Management in a Rural Community
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
: 8:54 a.m. - 9:06 a.m.
James M Raczynski, PhD,
Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR
Uncontrolled hypertension (u-HTN) is a serious concern, particularly in southern communities experiencing high rates of stroke and cardiovascular diseases. In Arkansas, which commonly has the highest stroke mortality rate in the US, 29% of adults overall and 34% of black adults have u-HTN. Community health workers (CHWs) have been shown to be effective adjuncts to medical care in a variety of settings, promoting health and disease self-management in a variety of settings and for a range of chronic conditions (e.g., heart disease, diabetes, obesity, hypertension). In rural, poorly-resourced communities with limited access to medical care, the use of provider extenders like CHWs is particularly important. However, to our knowledge, no one has demonstrated the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a CHW-led program to reduce rates of u-HTN. The Arkansas Prevention Research Center (ARPRC), with funding from CDC, is bringing the state’s health department, academic researchers, and community partners together to test the cost-effectiveness of an innovative program using CHWs to deliver a novel, stepped-care, computer-supported intervention to help individuals with u-HTN address financial, logistic, social, knowledge, and attitudinal barriers to HTN control and medication adherence. This presentation will describe the program and the CHW role, discuss challenges encountered to date and strategies used to overcome those challenges, share program progress, and discuss plans for sustainability and up-scaling the CHW intervention within the context of health care reform in the state.
Learning Areas:
Chronic disease management and prevention
Learning Objectives:
Discuss the use of CHWs to promote hypertension control through adherence to medical recommendations
Demonstrate ways CHWs might enhance efforts to control hypertension in under-resourced communities
Keyword(s): Chronic Disease Management and Care, Community Health Workers and Promoters
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the principal investigator for the research project, and as such was involved in the design of, planning for, and implementation of the project that is the subject of this presentation.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines,
and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed
in my presentation.
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a doctorally trained epidemiologist who has participated on numerous research teams. I have fully participated in the design of the project to be presented and I am currently overseeing its implementation.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines,
and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed
in my presentation.
