Abstract
BackgroundUncontrolled hypertension is a significant health problem in the United States, even though multiple drugs exist to effectively treat this chronic disease.ObjectiveAs part of a larger project developing data visualizations to support shared decision making about hypertension treatment, we conducted a series of studies to understand how perceptions of hypertension control were impacted by data variations inherent in the visualization of blood pressure (BP) data.MethodsIn 3 Web studies, participants (internet sample of patients with hypertension) reviewed a series of vignettes depicting patients with hypertension; each vignette included a graph of a patient’s BP. We examined how data visualizations that varied by BP mean and SD (Study 1), the pattern of change over time (Study 2), and the presence of extreme values (Study 3) affected patients’ judgments about hypertension control and the need for a medication change.ResultsParticipants’ judgments about hypertension control were significantly influenced by BP mean and SD (Study 1), data trends (whether BP was increasing or decreasing over time—Study 2), and extreme values (ie, outliers—Study 3).ConclusionsPatients’ judgment about hypertension control is influenced both by factors that are important predictors of hypertension related-health outcomes (eg, BP mean) and factors that are not (eg, variability and outliers). This study highlights the importance of developing data visualizations that direct attention toward clinically meaningful information.
Highlights
Uncontrolled hypertension is a significant health problem; there are 75 million adults in the United States alone with diagnosed hypertension [1-3]
This paper aims to report the results of 3 studies that examined how data visualizations that varied in blood pressure (BP) mean and SD (Study 1), pattern of change over time (Study 2), and the presence of extreme values (Study 3) impact patients’ judgments about hypertension control and the need for medication change
When the patient had BP that was objectively well controlled, the variability of the BP data had a significant impact on judgments about hypertension control and related health risks
Summary
Uncontrolled hypertension is a significant health problem; there are 75 million adults in the United States alone with diagnosed hypertension [1-3]. Several national and regional health initiatives (eg, Healthy People 2020, Million Hearts Initiative, and Community Preventive Task Force) have focused on improving hypertension monitoring and management. Despite these efforts, data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2011-2014 showed no marked change in the percentage of adults with controlled hypertension [4]. In their hypertension clinical action model, Kerr et al [5]. Uncontrolled hypertension is a significant health problem in the United States, even though multiple drugs exist to effectively treat this chronic disease
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