Effects of a family dyadic partnership program for people with hypertension in a rural community: A pilot randomised controlled trial.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE\nTo evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of a theory-based patient-family carer partnership intervention for people with hypertension in a Chinese rural community.\n\n\nDESIGN\nA pilot randomised controlled trial using pretest and post-test design.\n\n\nSETTING\nRural China PARTICIPANTS: Forty-four hypertensive patients and their family carers (family dyads) were randomly recruited from a village clinic located in China between November 2019 and January 2020.\n\n\nINTERVENTIONS\nParticipants were randomised to either an intervention group receiving a five-session patient-family carer partnership intervention over 10\xa0weeks or a control group receiving usual care.\n\n\nMAIN OUTCOME MEASURES\nThe feasibility and acceptability of patient-family carer partnership intervention and the changes in patients systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and percentage of normal controlled blood pressure.\n\n\nRESULTS\nThe patient-family carer partnership intervention was a feasible and acceptable program with high recruitment (81.5%) and completion rates (95.5%) and positive feedback from participants. Greater improvement in the percentage of normal controlled blood pressure was identified in the intervention group tested by the χ2 tests, with P\xa0=\xa0.03. Two-way ANOVA results indicated its interaction (Group\xa0×\xa0Time) effects on patients systolic blood pressure (P\xa0<\xa0.001), diastolic blood pressure (P\xa0<\xa0.001), dyadic partnership quality (P\xa0=\xa0.002), self-care (P\xa0<\xa0.001), self-efficacy (P\xa0=\xa0.02), antihypertensive drug treatment rate (P\xa0=\xa0.02), prescription adjustment (P\xa0=\xa0.03), perceived anxiety (P\xa0<\xa0.001) and health-related quality of life (EuroQol five-dimensional five-level: P\xa0=\xa0.02; EuroQol visual analogue scale: P\xa0<\xa0.001); family carers dyadic partnership quality (P\xa0=\xa0.002), perceived depression (P\xa0=\xa0.04) and health-related quality of life (P\xa0=\xa0.02) were significant.\n\n\nCONCLUSION\nOur findings support the feasibility and acceptability of the patient-family carer partnership intervention and indicate benefits in improving patients blood pressure control, dyadic relationship and psychological well-being of family dyads in rural area. Further research to test the longer-term effect in a large-sized population is recommended.