A cluster randomized controlled trial of an electronic decision-support system to enhance antenatal care services in pregnancy at primary healthcare level in Telangana, India: trial protocol

BACKGROUND

India contributes 15% of the total global maternal mortality burden. An increasing proportion of these deaths are due to Pregnancy Induced Hypertension (PIH), Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM), and anaemia. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a tablet-based electronic decision-support system (EDSS) to enhance routine antenatal care (ANC) and improve the screening and management of PIH, GDM, and anaemia in pregnancy in primary healthcare facilities of Telangana, India. The EDSS will work at two levels of primary health facilities and is customized for three cadres of healthcare providers - Auxiliary Nurse Midwifes (ANMs), staff nurses, and physicians (Medical Officers).

METHODS

This will be a cluster randomized controlled trial involving 66 clusters with a total of 1320 women in both the intervention and control arms. Each cluster will include three health facilities-one Primary Health Centre (PHC) and two linked sub-centers (SC). In the facilities under the intervention arm, ANMs, staff nurses, and Medical Officers will use the EDSS while providing ANC for all pregnant women. Facilities in the control arm will continue to provide ANC services using the existing standard of care in Telangana. The primary outcome is ANC quality, measured as provision of a composite of four selected ANC components (measurement of blood pressure, blood glucose, hemoglobin levels, and conducting a urinary dipstick test) by the healthcare providers per visit, observed over two visits. Trained field research staff will collect outcome data via an observation checklist.

DISCUSSION

To our knowledge, this is the first trial in India to evaluate an EDSS, targeted to enhance the quality of ANC and improve the screening and management of PIH, GDM, and anaemia, for multiple levels of health facilities and several cadres of healthcare providers. If effective, insights from the trial on the feasibility and cost of implementing the EDSS can inform potential national scale-up. Lessons learned from this trial will also inform recommendations for designing and upscaling similar mHealth interventions in other low and middle-income countries.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

CLINICALTRIALS

gov, NCT03700034, registered 9 Oct 2018, https://www.

CLINICALTRIALS

gov/ct2/show/NCT03700034 CTRI, CTRI/2019/01/016857, registered on 3 Mar 2019, http://www.ctri.nic.in/Clinicaltrials/pdf_generate.php?trialid=28627&EncHid=&modid=&compid=%27,%2728627det%27.

Correction: Cardiovascular Health in India - a Report Card from Three Urban and Rural Surveys of 22,144 Adults

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.5334/gh.1137.].

Cardiovascular Health in India - a Report Card from Three Urban and Rural Surveys of 22,144 Adults

Background

Markers of ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) predict cardiovascular events. We estimated the prevalence of ideal CVH markers in two levels of cities and villages in India.

Methods

We did pooled analysis of individual-level data from three cross sectional surveys of adults ≥ 30 years over 2010-14 (CARRS: Centre for cArdiometabolic Risk Reduction in South Asia; UDAY and Solan Surveillance Study) representing metropolitan cities; smaller cities and rural areas in diverse locations of India. We defined ideal CVH using modified American Heart Association recommendations: not smoking, ≥ 5 servings of fruits and vegetables (F&V), high physical activity (PA), body mass index (BMI) <25 Kg/m2, blood pressure (BP) <120/80 mm Hg, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) <100 mg/dl, and total cholesterol (TC) <200 mg/dL. We estimated (1) age-and sex-standardized prevalence of ideal CVH and (2) prevalence of good (≥6 markers), moderate (4-5), and poor CVH (≤3) adjusted for age, sex, education, and stratified by setting and asset tertiles.

Results

Of the total 22,144 participants, the prevalence of ideal CVH markers were: not smoking (76.7% [95% CI 76.1, 77.2]), consumed ≥5 F&V (4.2% [3.9, 4.5]), high PA (67.5% [66.8, 68.2]), optimum BMI (59.6% [58.9, 60.3]), ideal BP (34.5% [33.9, 35.2]), FPG (65.8% [65.1, 66.5]) and TC (65.4% [64.7, 66.1]). The mean number of ideal CVH metrics was 3.7(95% CI: 3.7, 3.8). Adjusted prevalence of good, moderate, and poor CVH, varied across settings: metropolitan (3.9%, 41.0%, and 55.1%), smaller cities (7.8%, 49.2%, and 43%), and rural (10.4%, 60.9%, and 28.7%) and across asset tertiles: Low (11.0%, 55.9%, 33.1%), Middle (6.3%, 52.2%, 41.5%), and High (5.0%, 46.4%, 48.7%), respectively.

Conclusion

Achievement of ideal CVH varied, with higher prevalence in rural and lower asset tertiles. Multi-sectoral and targeted policy and program actions are needed to improve CVH in diverse contexts in India.

Improving care for hypertension and diabetes in india by addition of clinical decision support system and task shifting in the national NCD program: I-TREC model of care

Background

The growing burden of hypertension and diabetes is one of the major public health challenges being faced by the health system in India. Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) that assist with tailoring evidence-based management approaches combined with task-shifting from more specialized to less specialized providers may together enhance the impact of a program. We sought to integrate a technology “CDSS” and a strategy “Task-shifting” within the Government of India’s (GoI) Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) System under the Comprehensive Primary Health Care (CPHC) initiative to enhance the program’s impact to address the growing burden of hypertension and diabetes in India.

Methods

We developed a model of care “I-TREC” entirely calibrated for implementation within the current health system across all facility types (Primary Health Centre, Community Health Centre, and District Hospital) in a block in Shaheed Bhagat Singh (SBS) Nagar district of Punjab, India. We undertook an academic-community partnership to incorporate the combination of a CDSS with task-shifting into the GoI CPHC-NCD system, a platform that assists healthcare providers to record patient information for routine NCD care. Academic partners developed clinical algorithms, a revised clinic workflow, and provider training modules with iterative collaboration and consultation with government and technology partners to incorporate CDSS within the existing system.

Discussion

The CDSS-enabled GoI CPHC-NCD system provides evidence-based recommendations for hypertension and diabetes; threshold-based prompts to assure referral mechanism across health facilities; integrated patient database, and care coordination through workflow management and dashboard alerts. To enable efficient implementation, modifications were made in the patient workflow and the fulcrum of the use of technology shifted from physician to nurse.

Conclusion

Designed to be applicable nationwide, the I-TREC model of care is being piloted in a block in the state of Punjab, India. Learnings from I-TREC will provide a roadmap to other public health experts to integrate and adapt their interventions at the national level.

Trial registration

CTRI/2020/01/022723.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12913-022-08025-y.

A model for national assessment of barriers for implementing digital technology interventions to improve hypertension management in the public health care system in India

BACKGROUND

There is substantial interest in leveraging digital health technology to support hypertension management in low- and middle-income countries such as India. The potential for healthcare infrastructure and broader context to support such initiatives in India has not been examined. We evaluated existing healthcare infrastructure to support digital health interventions and examined epidemiologic, socioeconomic, and geographical contextual correlates of healthcare infrastructure in 544 districts covering 29 states and union territories across India.

METHODS

The study was a cross-sectional analysis of India's Fourth District Level Household and Facility Survey (DLHS-4; 2012-2014), the most up-to-date nationally representative district-level healthcare infrastructure data. Facilities were the unit of analysis, and analyses accounted for clustering within states. The main outcome was healthcare system infrastructural context to implement hypertension management programs. Domains included diagnostics (functional BP instrument), medications (anti-hypertensive medication in stock), essential clinical staff (e.g., staff nurse, medical officer, pharmacist), and IT specific infrastructure (regular power supply, internet connection, computer availability). Descriptive analysis was conducted for infrastructure indicators based on the Indian Public Health Standards, and logistic regression was conducted to estimate the association between epidemiologic and geographical context (exposures) and the composite measure of healthcare system.

RESULTS

Data from 32,215 government facilities were analyzed. Among lowest-tier subcenters, 30% had some IT infrastructure, while at the highest-tier district hospitals, 92% possessed IT infrastructure. At mid-tier primary health centres and community health centres, IT infrastructure availability was 28 and 51%, respectively. For all but sub-centres, the availability of essential staff was lower than the availability of IT infrastructure. For all but district hospitals, higher levels of blood pressure, body mass index, and urban residents were correlated with more favorable infrastructure. By region, districts in Western India tended towards having the best prepared health facilities.

CONCLUSIONS

IT infrastructure to support digital health interventions is more frequently lacking at lower and mid-tier healthcare facilities compared with apex facilities in India. Gaps were generally larger for staffing than physical infrastructure, suggesting that beyond IT infrastructure, shortages in essential staff impose significant constraints to the adoption of digital health interventions. These data provide early benchmarks for state- and district-level planning.

The Integrated Tracking, Referral, and Electronic Decision Support, and Care Coordination (I-TREC) program: scalable strategies for the management of hypertension and diabetes within the government healthcare system of India

Background

Hypertension and diabetes are among the most common and deadly chronic conditions globally. In India, most adults with these conditions remain undiagnosed, untreated, or poorly treated and uncontrolled. Innovative and scalable approaches to deliver proven-effective strategies for medical and lifestyle management of these conditions are needed.

Methods

The overall goal of this implementation science study is to evaluate the Integrated Tracking, Referral, Electronic decision support, and Care coordination (I-TREC) program. I-TREC leverages information technology (IT) to manage hypertension and diabetes in adults aged ≥30 years across the hierarchy of Indian public healthcare facilities. The I-TREC program combines multiple evidence-based interventions: an electronic case record form (eCRF) to consolidate and track patient information and referrals across the publicly-funded healthcare system; an electronic clinical decision support system (CDSS) to assist clinicians to provide tailored guideline-based care to patients; a revised workflow to ensure coordinated care within and across facilities; and enhanced training for physicians and nurses regarding non-communicable disease (NCD) medical content and lifestyle management. The program will be implemented and evaluated in a predominantly rural district of Punjab, India. The evaluation will employ a quasi-experimental design with mixed methods data collection. Evaluation indicators assess changes in the continuum of care for hypertension and diabetes and are grounded in the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. Data will be triangulated from multiple sources, including community surveys, health facility assessments, stakeholder interviews, and patient-level data from the I-TREC program’s electronic database.

Discussion

I-TREC consolidates previously proven strategies for improved management of hypertension and diabetes at single-levels of the healthcare system into a scalable model for coordinated care delivery across all levels of the healthcare system hierarchy. Findings have the potential to inform best practices to ultimately deliver quality public-sector hypertension and diabetes care across India.

Trial registration

The study is registered with Clinical Trials Registry of India (registration number CTRI/2020/01/022723). The study was registered prior to the launch of the intervention on 13 January 2020. The current version of protocol is version 2 dated 6 June 2018.

Association between socioeconomic position and cardiovascular disease risk factors in rural north India: The Solan Surveillance Study

Background

Although most Indians live in rural settings, data on cardiovascular disease risk factors in these groups are limited. We describe the association between socioeconomic position and cardiovascular disease risk factors in a large rural population in north India.

Methods

We performed representative, community-based sampling from 2013 to 2014 of Solan district in Himachal Pradesh. We used education, occupation, household income, and household assets as indicators of socioeconomic position. We used tobacco use, alcohol use, low physical activity, obesity, hypertension, and diabetes as risk factors for cardiovascular disease. We performed hierarchical multivariable logistic regression, adjusting for age, sex and clustering of the health sub-centers, to evaluate the cross-sectional association of socioeconomic position indicators and cardiovascular disease risk factors.

Results

Among 38,457 participants, mean (SD) age was 42.7 (15.9) years, and 57% were women. The odds of tobacco use was lowest in participants with graduate school and above education (adjusted OR 0.11, 95% CI 0.09, 0.13), household income >15,000 INR (adjusted OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.29, 0.43), and highest quartile of assets (adjusted OR 0.28, 95% CI 0.24, 0.34) compared with other groups but not occupation (skilled worker adjusted OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.74, 1.16). Alcohol use was lower among individuals in the higher quartile of income (adjusted OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.64, 0.88) and assets (adjusted OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.59, 0.82). The odds of obesity was highest in participants with graduate school and above education (adjusted OR 2.33, 95% CI 1.85, 2.94), household income > 15,000 Indian rupees (adjusted OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.63, 2.19), and highest quartile of household assets (adjusted OR 2.87, 95% CI 2.39, 3.45). The odds of prevalent hypertension and diabetes were also generally higher among individuals with higher socioeconomic position.

Conclusions

Individuals with lower socioeconomic position in Himachal Pradesh were more likely to have abnormal behavioral risk factors, and individuals with higher socioeconomic position were more likely to have abnormal clinical risk factors.

Process evaluation protocol for a cluster randomised trial of a complex, nurse-led intervention to improve hypertension management in India

INTRODUCTION

India has high prevalence of hypertension but low awareness, treatment and control rate. A cluster randomised trial entitled 'm-Power Heart Project' is being implemented to test the effectiveness of a nurse care coordinator (NCC) led complex intervention to address uncontrolled hypertension in the community health centres (CHCs). The trial's process evaluation will assess the fidelity and quality of implementation, clarify the causal mechanisms and identify the contextual factors associated with variation in the outcomes. The trial will use a theory-based mixed-methods process evaluation, guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

The process evaluation will be conducted in the CHCs of Visakhapatnam (southern India). The key stakeholders involved in the intervention development and implementation will be included as participants. In-depth interviews will be conducted with intervention developers, doctors, NCCs and health department officials and focus groups with patients and their caregivers. NCC training will be evaluated using Kirkpatrick's model for training evaluation. Key process evaluation indicators (number of patients recruited and retained; concordance between the treatment plans generated by the electronic decision support system and treatment prescribed by the doctor and so on) will be assessed. Fidelity will be assessed using Borrelli et al's framework. Qualitative data will be analysed using the template analysis technique. Quantitative data will be summarised as medians (IQR), means (SD) and proportions as appropriate. Mixed-methods analysis will be conducted to assess if the variation in the mean reduction of systolic blood pressure between the intervention CHCs is influenced by patient satisfaction, training outcome, attitude of doctors, patients and NCCs about the intervention, process indicators etc. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the ethics committees at Public Health Foundation of India and Deakin University. Findings will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publications, national and international conference presentations.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT03164317; Pre-results.

Effectiveness of an mHealth-Based Electronic Decision Support System for Integrated Management of Chronic Conditions in Primary Care: The mWellcare Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND

The burden of noncommunicable diseases and their risk factors has rapidly increased worldwide, including in India. Innovative management strategies with electronic decision support and task sharing have been assessed for hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and depression individually, but an integrated package for multiple chronic condition management in primary care has not been evaluated.

METHODS

In a prospective, multicenter, open-label, cluster-randomized controlled trial involving 40 community health centers, using hypertension and diabetes mellitus as entry points, we evaluated the effectiveness of mWellcare, an mHealth system consisting of electronic health record storage and an electronic decision support for the integrated management of 5 chronic conditions (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, current tobacco and alcohol use, and depression) versus enhanced usual care among patients with hypertension and diabetes mellitus in India. At trial end (12-month follow-up), using intention-to-treat analysis, we examined the mean difference between arms in change in systolic blood pressure and glycated hemoglobin as primary outcomes and fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, predicted 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease, depression score, and proportions reporting tobacco and alcohol use as secondary outcomes. Mixed-effects regression models were used to account for clustering and other confounding variables.

RESULTS

Among 3698 enrolled participants across 40 clusters (mean age, 55.1 years; SD, 11 years; 55.2% men), 3324 completed the trial. There was no evidence of difference between the 2 arms for systolic blood pressure (∆=-0.98; 95% CI, -4.64 to 2.67) and glycated hemoglobin (∆=0.11; 95% CI, -0.24 to 0.45) even after adjustment of several key variables (adjusted differences for systolic blood pressure: - 0.31 [95% CI, -3.91 to 3.29]; for glycated hemoglobin: 0.08 [95% CI, -0.27 to 0.44]). The mean withingroup changes in systolic blood pressure in mWellcare and enhanced usual care were -13.65 mmHg versus -12.66 mmHg, respectively, and for glycated hemoglobin were -0.48% and -0.58%, respectively. Similarly, there were no differences in the changes between the 2 groups for tobacco and alcohol use or other secondary outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

We did not find an incremental benefit of mWellcare over enhanced usual care in the management of the chronic conditions studied.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT02480062.

m-Power Heart Project - a nurse care coordinator led, mHealth enabled intervention to improve the management of hypertension in India: study protocol for a cluster randomized trial

Background

The proportion of patients with controlled hypertension (< 140/90 mmHg) is very low in India. Thus, there is a need to improve blood pressure management among patients with uncontrolled hypertension through innovative strategies directed at health system strengthening.

Methods

We designed an intervention consisting of two important components – an electronic decision support system (EDSS) used by a trained nurse care coordinator (NCC). Based on preliminary data, we hypothesized that this intervention will be able to reduce mean systolic blood pressure by 6.5 mmHg among those with uncontrolled blood pressure in the intervention arm compared to the standard treatment arm (paper-based hypertension treatment guidelines). The study will adopt a cluster randomized trial design with the community health center (CHC) as the unit of randomization. The trial will be conducted in Visakhapatnam district (southern India). A total of 1876 participants aged ≥30 years with high blood pressure – systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥ 160 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥ 90 mmHg will be enrolled from 12 CHCs. The intervention consists of trained NCCs equipped with an evidence-based hypertension treatment algorithm in the form of the EDSS with regular SMSs to patients with hypertension to promote hypertension treatment and blood pressure control for 12 months. The primary outcome will be difference in the mean change of SBP, from baseline to 12 months, between the intervention and the standard treatment arm. The secondary outcomes are the difference in mean change of DBP; difference in the proportion of patients with controlled blood pressure (< 140/90 mmHg); difference in mean change of fasting blood sugar, HbA1C, eGFR, and albumin to creatinine ratio; difference in the proportion of patients visiting the CHC regularly (number of actual visits to the CHC/number of visits suggested by the EDSS > 80%); difference in proportion of patients compliant to anti-hypertensive medication/s; cost-effectiveness of intervention versus enhanced care. All the outcomes will be assessed at 12 months.

Discussion

The study is expected to provide evidence on the effectiveness of NCC-led, EDSS-based hypertension management in India and can likely offer an exemplar for improving cardiovascular disease (CVD) management in India within the resource-constrained public healthcare system.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov, ID: NCT03164317). Registered retrospectively on 23 May 2017 (first patient enrolled on 6 April 2017) because the authors did not receive a response to their original registration submission (5 January 2017) to the Clinical Trial Registry – India (CTRI).

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s13063-018-2813-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Development of mWellcare: an mHealth intervention for integrated management of hypertension and diabetes in low-resource settings

BACKGROUND

Cardiovascular diseases and diabetes are among the leading causes of premature adult deaths in India. Innovative approaches such as clinical decision support (CDS) software could play a major role in improving the quality of hypertension/diabetes care in primary care settings.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the steps and processes in the development of mWellcare, a complex intervention based on mobile health (mHealth) technology.

METHODS

The Medical Research Council framework was used to develop mWellcare in four steps: (1) identify gaps in usual care through literature review and health facility assessments; (2) identify the components of the intervention through discussions and consultations with experts; (3) develop intervention (clinical algorithms and mHealth system); and (4) evaluate acceptability and feasibility through pilot testing in five community health centers.

RESULTS

Lack of evidence-based, integrated, and systematic management of chronic conditions were major gaps identified. Experts in information technology, clinical fields, and public health professionals identified intervention components to address these gaps. Thereafter, clinical algorithm contextualized to primary care settings were prepared and the mWellcare intervention was developed. During the 2-month pilot, 631 patients diagnosed with hypertension and/or diabetes were registered, with a follow-up rate of 36.2%. The major barrier was resistance to follow mWellcare recommended patient workflow, and to overcome it, we emphasized onsite training and orientation program to cover all health care team member in each CHC.

CONCLUSION

A pilot-tested mWellcare intervention is an mHealth system with important components, i.e. integrated management of chronic conditions, evidence-based CDS, longitudinal health data and automated short-messaging service to reinforce compliance to drug intake and follow-up visit, which will be used by nurses at primary health care settings in India. The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the intervention will be tested through a cluster randomized trial (trial registration number NCT02480062).

Protocol for the mWellcare trial: a multicentre, cluster randomised, 12-month, controlled trial to compare the effectiveness of mWellcare, an mHealth system for an integrated management of patients with hypertension and diabetes, versus enhanced usual care in India

INTRODUCTION

Rising burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes is a major challenge to the health system in India. Innovative approaches such as mobile phone technology (mHealth) for electronic decision support in delivering evidence-based and integrated care for hypertension, diabetes and comorbid depression have potential to transform the primary healthcare system. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: mWellcare trial is a multicentre, cluster randomised controlled trial evaluating the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a mHealth system and nurse managed care for people with hypertension and diabetes in rural India. mWellcare system is an Android-based mobile application designed to generate algorithm-based clinical management prompts for treating hypertension and diabetes and also capable of storing health records, sending alerts and reminders for follow-up and adherence to medication. We recruited a total of 3702 participants from 40 Community Health Centres (CHCs), with ≥90 at each of the CHCs in the intervention and control (enhanced care) arms. The primary outcome is the difference in mean change (from baseline to 1 year) in systolic blood pressure and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) between the two treatment arms. The secondary outcomes are difference in mean change from baseline to 1 year in fasting plasma glucose, total cholesterol, predicted 10-year risk of CVD, depression, smoking behaviour, body mass index and alcohol use between the two treatment arms and cost-effectiveness.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The study has been approved by the institutional Ethics Committees at Public Health Foundation of India and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Findings will be disseminated widely through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations and other mechanisms.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

mWellcare trial is registered with Clinicaltrial.gov (Registration number NCT02480062; Pre-results) and Clinical Trial Registry of India (Registration number CTRI/2016/02/006641). The current version of the protocol is Version 2 dated 19 October 2015 and the study sponsor is Public Health Foundation of India, Gurgaon, India (www.phfi.org).

The Development of mWellcare, an mHealth System for the Integrated Management of Hypertension and Diabetes in Primary Care

This paper describes development of mhealth application "mWellcare" for the integrated management of hypertension and diabetes in public primary health care settings. mWellcare application was developed in four phases: identifying gaps in usual care; identifying components of intervention; developing intervention; evaluating acceptability and feasibility through pilot testing. Final version of mWellcare application is capable of computing personalized evidence-based management plan for hypertension, diabetes and co-morbid conditions (depression and alcohol use disorder).

Development of a Smartphone-Enabled Hypertension and Diabetes Mellitus Management Package to Facilitate Evidence-Based Care Delivery in Primary Healthcare Facilities in India: The mPower Heart Project

Background

The high burden of undetected and undertreated hypertension and diabetes mellitus is a major health challenge worldwide. The mPower Heart Project aimed to develop and test a feasible and scalable intervention for hypertension and diabetes mellitus by task‐sharing with the use of a mobile phone–based clinical decision support system at Community Health Centers in Himachal Pradesh, India.

Methods and Results

The development of the intervention and mobile phone–based clinical decision support system was carried out using mixed methods in five Community Health Centers. The intervention was subsequently evaluated using pre–post evaluation design. During intervention, a nurse care coordinator screened, examined, and entered patient parameters into mobile phone–based clinical decision support system to generate a prescription, which was vetted by a physician. The change in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) over 18 months of intervention was quantified using generalized estimating equations models. During intervention, 6797 participants were enrolled. Six thousand sixteen participants had hypertension (mean systolic blood pressure: 146.1 mm Hg, 95% CI: 145.7, 146.5; diastolic blood pressure: 89.52 mm Hg, 95% CI: 89.33, 89.72), of which 3152 (52%) subjects were newly detected. Similarly, 1516 participants had diabetes mellitus (mean FPG: 177.9 mg/dL, 95% CI: 175.8, 180.0), of which 450 (30%) subjects were newly detected. The changes in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and FPG observed at 18 months of follow‐up were −14.6 mm Hg (95% CI: −15.3, −13.8), −7.6 mm Hg (CI: −8.0, −7.2), and −50.0 mg/dL (95% CI: −54.6, −45.5), respectively, and were statistically significant even after adjusting for age, sex, and Community Health Center.

Conclusions

A nurse‐facilitated, mobile phone–based clinical decision support system‐enabled intervention in primary care was associated with improvements in blood pressure and blood glucose control and has the potential to scale‐up in resource poor settings.

Clinical Trial Registration

URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifiers: NCT01794052. Clinical Trial Registry—India: CTRI/2013/02/003412.

A Cluster-Randomized, Controlled Trial of a Simplified Multifaceted Management Program for Individuals at High Cardiovascular Risk (SimCard Trial) in Rural Tibet, China, and Haryana, India

BACKGROUND

In rural areas in China and India, the cardiovascular disease burden is high but economic and healthcare resources are limited. This study (the Simplified Cardiovascular Management Study [SimCard]) aims to develop and evaluate a simplified cardiovascular management program delivered by community health workers with the aid of a smartphone-based electronic decision support system.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The SimCard study was a yearlong cluster-randomized, controlled trial conducted in 47 villages (27 in China and 20 in India). Recruited for the study were 2086 individuals with high cardiovascular risk (aged ≥40 years with self-reported history of coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes mellitus, and/or measured systolic blood pressure ≥160 mm Hg). Participants in the intervention villages were managed by community health workers through an Android-powered app on a monthly basis focusing on 2 medication use and 2 lifestyle modifications. In comparison with the control group, the intervention group had a 25.5% (P<0.001) higher net increase in the primary outcome of the proportion of patient-reported antihypertensive medication use pre- and post-intervention. There were also significant differences in certain secondary outcomes: aspirin use (net difference: 17.1%; P<0.001) and systolic blood pressure (-2.7 mm Hg; P=0.04). However, no significant changes were observed in the lifestyle factors. The intervention was culturally tailored, and country-specific results revealed important differences between the regions.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicate that the simplified cardiovascular management program improved quality of primary care and clinical outcomes in resource-poor settings in China and India. Larger trials in more places are needed to ascertain the potential impacts on mortality and morbidity outcomes.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01503814.

Unusual presentations of pouch colon

Pouch colon associated with high anorectal malformation is a rare anomaly. Two unique anatomic variants of congenital pouch colon, never reported before, are presented.