Open AccessUsing an Established Telehealth Model to Train Urban Primary Care Providers on Hypertension Management
Author(s) -
Masi Christopher,
Hamlish Tamara,
Davis Andrew,
Bordenave Kristine,
Brown Stephen,
Perea Brenda,
Aduana Glen,
Wolfe Marcus,
Bakris George,
Johnson Daniel
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the journal of clinical hypertension
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.909
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1751-7176
pISSN - 1524-6175
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-7176.2011.00559.x
Subject(s) - medicine , telehealth , primary care , intervention (counseling) , session (web analytics) , telemedicine , curriculum , family medicine , physical therapy , health care , nursing , psychology , pedagogy , world wide web , computer science , economics , economic growth
J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). The objective of this study was to determine whether a videoconference‐based telehealth network can increase hypertension management knowledge and self‐assessed competency among primary care providers (PCPs) working in urban Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). We created a telehealth network among 6 urban FQHCs and our institution to support a 12‐session educational program designed to teach state‐of‐the‐art hypertension management. Each 1‐hour session included a brief lecture by a university‐based hypertension specialist, case presentations by PCPs, and interactive discussions among the specialist and PCPs. Twelve PCPs (9 intervention and 3 controls) were surveyed at baseline and immediately following the curriculum. The mean number of correct answers on the 26‐item hypertension knowledge questionnaire increased in the intervention group (13.11 [standard deviation (SD)]=3.06) to 17.44 [SD=1.59], P <.01) but not among controls (14.33 [SD=3.21] to 13.00 [SD=3.46], P =.06). Similarly, the mean score on a 7‐item hypertension management self‐assessed competency scale increased in the intervention group (4.68 [SD=0.94] to 5.41 [SD=0.89], P <.01) but not among controls (5.28 [SD=0.43] to 5.62 [SD=0.67], P =.64). This model holds promise for enhancing hypertension care provided by urban FQHC providers.