Development and Testing of an Evidence-based Education Package to Improve Home Blood Pressure Monitoring Accuracy, Knowledge, Technique and Patient Satisfaction

Abstract

Background: Home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) is becoming ubiquitous to current hypertension diagnosis and management, patients training using evidence-based guideline can help improve the accuracy of their measurements. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of an evidence based, patient-centered education package in improving their HBPM knowledge and technique. Methods: Eligibility criteria included patients who were currently (or recommended to) performing HBPM, medically stable and not undergoing medication review. The measurement instruments were adapted from published instruments, updated with current recommendations from the Australian Expert Consensus Statement for HBPM. The results from the pre- and post-surveys were then compared to determine the effectiveness of the intervention. Results: The study recruited 26 participants (18 patients, 8 nurses) from multiple locations across the south-east region of South Australia. Nurses performed better than the patient group in both HBPM and hypertension knowledge in pre-intervention (nurses: mean = 11.63, SD ± 2.72; patients: mean = 9.83, SD ± 3.35) and post-intervention (nurses: mean = 16.13, SD ± 0.64; patients: mean = 15.89, SD ± 1.02) questionnaires. Overall HBPM knowledge improved by a mean of 5.58, SD ± 3.29, 95% CI 4.25–6.91, p ≤ 0.001), similarly hypertension knowledge also improved by a mean of 1.42, SD ± 1.65, 95% CI 0.76–2.09, p ≤ 0.001. Participants were very receptive to the education package, the overall level of satisfaction to the contents and delivery method was 85%. Conclusions: The intervention provided a significant statistical improvement on participants’ HBPM and hypertension knowledge. Further longitudinal studies and RCT are recommended for further improvement of the education package.