Authors (including presenting author) :
WY Yeung, WT Lee, LL Lee, WC Ng, Denise YS Tam, Jenny HL Wang, Alfred SK Kwong, Welchie WK Ko
Affiliation :
Department of Family Medicine and Primary Healthcare, Queen Mary Hospital
Introduction :
More and more international guidelines and scientific statements recommend self-measured blood pressure (SMBP) monitoring in the diagnosis of Hypertension (HT), detection of white-coat HT and marked HT, determination of blood pressure (BP) control during HT treatment, and use as a tool to empower patients in BP management. Effective use of SMBP monitoring requires an infrastructure of education and communication. An SMBP monitoring program has been implemented in Nurse and Allied Health Clinic in HKWC.
Objectives :
Upon completion of the program, the patients could
•Monitor and record their own BP accurately with confidence at home;
•Clarify misunderstanding and handle abnormal BP readings
Methodology :
The technique of SMBP monitoring was taught for HT patients after they attended HT RAMP (Risk Assessment and Management Program) at Tsan Yuk Hospital.
It includes nursing assessment, video presentation, nurse demonstration, and instruction of BP record. On the second visit, patients showed their BP record and demonstrated how to measure BP by their home digital BP machine. The outcomes were assessed by pre- and post-program questionnaires, satisfaction surveys, and evaluation of home BP monitoring.
Result & Outcome :
From Jul 2020 to Oct 2020, 143 patients completed the program. Over 90% of patients have improved the knowledge and skill in performing SMBP monitoring on assessment.
Over 95% of patients fulfilled the program objectives and especially enhanced motivation on home BP, and understood the importance of maintaining normal BP.
100% of patients expressed they would continue SMBP. 97.8% of patients would recommend the services to others.
All patients appreciated the part of instruction on blood pressure measurement and the demonstration by nurse. They agreed self-blood pressure monitoring could help in better BP control.
Patients' knowledge on anti-HT drugs has slightly improved after attending the program (78.7% vs 83.9%), but still relatively low. We will further explore the reason.
This program could empower patients to have good skills and a clear concept in self-measure blood pressure monitoring. It should be promoted in the primary care setting.
