Open-label randomized trial of titrated disease management for patients with hypertension: Study design and baseline sample characteristics

Enrollment and Retention of Men and Women in Health Services Research and Development Trials

INTRODUCTION

Sex- and gender-specific science is essential to inform patient-centered, evidence-based care. Developing such evidence requires adequate inclusion of both women and men in trials. We sought to describe study participation of women and men in Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Research and Development trials.

METHODS

We identified recent health services research trials from one Health Services Research and Development Center of Innovation and compared the participation of women and men from trial recruitment to study completion. We also calculated the participation to prevalence ratio (PPR) by sex for each trial.

RESULTS

We included eight trials that started recruitment between 2011 and 2014. Only one study purposefully attempted to boost the recruitment of women. Overall, the PPR for women ranged from 0.2 to 4.5, with seven studies having a PPR of greater than 1, indicating that women participated in these trials at proportions greater than their prevalence in the disease population within the Department of Veterans Affairs. The PPR for men ranged from 0.8 to 1.1. Retention was best with those studies that used administrative data for final outcomes assessment. No studies provided results stratified by sex or conducted analyses to explore treatment effect by sex.

CONCLUSIONS

At a single site, women participated in Health Services Research and Development trials at similar or greater rates to men without cross-study efforts to enrich the recruitment or retention of women. Adding strategic recruitment approaches could further boost the proportion of women in Department of Veterans Affairs trials and enable adequately powered sex-based analyses.

Veteran peer Coaches Optimizing and Advancing Cardiac Health (Vet-COACH); design and rationale for a randomized controlled trial of peer support among Veterans with poorly controlled hypertension and other CVD risks

BACKGROUND

Peer support can improve health for patients with chronic conditions; however, evidence for disease prevention is less clear and peer recruitment strategies are not well described. This paper describes a study protocol to evaluate a peer support intervention to improve hypertension control and reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.

METHODS & RESEARCH DESIGN

Target enrollment for this two-site study is n = 400. Eligibility criteria include Veterans enrolled in Veterans Health Administration (VHA) primary care with poorly controlled hypertension and one other cardiovascular disease risk (smoking, overweight/obesity, or hyperlipidemia) who live in census tracts with high rates of hypertension. Enrolled participants are randomized to a home-based peer delivered self-management intervention (5 home visits and 5 phone calls with a peer health coach) versus usual care. The primary outcome is a change in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and secondary outcomes include change in CVD risk and health care use.

RESULTS

Trial results are pending and participant enrollment is ongoing. We recruited peer coaches from Veterans who lived in census tracks with the highest rates of hypertension. To recruit Veteran peer coaches, we asked primary care providers (n = 41) and team nurses (n = 35) to nominate patients who they thought would be a good fit for the peer coach position (based on successful self-management and health care navigation) (n = 73 nominated from 964 patients). We interviewed 12 Veterans and trained 5 peer coaches.

CONCLUSIONS

Results of this trial will inform peer support programs targeted to provide community-based delivery of prevention services to patients in high-risk areas.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Clinicaltrial.gov identifier NCT02697422 TRIAL STATUS: Enrollment for the randomized trial phase began in September 2017 and will be complete September 2019.

How Views of the Organization of Primary Care Among Patients with Hypertension Vary by Race or Ethnicity

INTRODUCTION

We assessed potential racial or ethnic differences in the degree to which veterans with pharmaceutically treated hypertension report experiences with their primary care system that are consistent with optimal chronic illness care as suggested by Wagner's Chronic Care Model (CCM).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional analysis of the results of the Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care (PACIC), which measured components of the care system suggested by the CCM and was completed at baseline by participants in a hypertension disease management clinical trial. Participants had a recent history of uncontrolled systolic blood pressure.

RESULTS

Among 377 patients, non-Hispanic African American veterans had almost twice the odds of indicating that their primary care experience is consistent with CCM features when compared with non-Hispanic White patients (odds ratio (OR) = 1.86; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.16-2.98). Similar statistically significant associations were observed for follow-up care (OR = 2.59; 95% CI = 1.49-4.50), patient activation (OR = 1.80; 95% CI = 1.13-2.87), goal setting (OR = 1.65; 95% CI = 1.03-2.64), and help with problem solving (OR = 1.62; 95% CI = 1.00-2.60).

CONCLUSIONS

Non-Hispanic African Americans with pharmaceutically treated hypertension report that the primary care system more closely approximates the Wagner CCM than non-Hispanic White patients.