Design and Rationale of the Home Blood Pressure Telemonitoring Linked with Community Health Workers to Improve Blood Pressure (LINKED-BP) Program

Authors: Yvonne Commodore-Mensah,Xiaoyue Liu, Oluwabunmi Ogungbe, Chidinma Ibe, Johnitta Amihere, Margaret Mensa, Seth S Martin, Deidra Crews, Kathryn A Carson, Lisa A Cooper, and Cheryl R Himmelfarb

This paper outlines the design and rationale for a planned study which seeks to examine the effect of the LINKED-BP Program on blood pressure (BP) reduction while also evaluating its reach, adoption, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness within the U.S.A. The LINKED-BP Program is a multi-level intervention linking home BP monitoring with a mobile health application, support from CHWs, and BP measurement training. Patients randomly assigned to the LINKED-BP Program will receive training on home BP monitoring, BP telemonitoring through the Sphygmo app, and CHW telehealth visits for education and counseling on lifestyle modification over 12 months. The primary clinical outcome will be change from baseline in systolic BP at 6 and 12 months. The findings from this study will inform implementation strategies that address social determinants of health and barriers to hypertension prevention in underserved populations, while equipping CHWs to better support at risk communities in hypertension prevention.