The effectiveness of a community/academic health center partnership in decreasing the level of blood pressure in an urban African-American population

This study investigated the effectiveness of a community-academic health center partnership, utilizing nurse-supervised indigenous community health workers, in decreasing the blood pressure in an urban African-American population. A four-year randomized clinical trial was conducted in the Sandtown-Winchester community, which has an excess prevalence of high blood pressure, in order to test the effectiveness of 2 different levels of intervention intensity on increasing the control of high blood pressure. Community health workers were trained and certified in blood pressure management, monitoring, education and counseling, social support mobilization, and community outreach and follow up. The primary results were a significant decrease in mean systolic and diastolic pressures after both levels of intervention, and a significant increase in the percentage of individuals with controlled high blood pressure. Surprisingly, no differences in results were observed between the 2 levels of intervention intensity. This study supports the use of community-based partnership efforts, and the utilization of indigenous health workers, to enhance the control of high blood pressure in a high-risk, African-American urban population.