A WeChat-Based Self-Management Intervention for Community Middle-Aged and Elderly Adults with Hypertension in Guangzhou, China: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial

Xiaowen Li, Tong Li, Jianying Chen, Yuanling Xie, Xia An, Yunhong Lv and Aihua Lin
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Xiaowen Li: Department of Medical Statistics, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
Tong Li: Department of Medical Statistics, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
Jianying Chen: Baiyun Community Healthcare Center, Guangzhou 510080, China
Yuanling Xie: Baiyun Community Healthcare Center, Guangzhou 510080, China
Xia An: Department of Medical Statistics, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
Yunhong Lv: Department of Medical Statistics, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
Aihua Lin: Department of Medical Statistics, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 21, 1-12

Abstract: This study aimed to assess whether a WeChat-based self-management intervention would be effective for community middle-aged and elderly adults with hypertension in Guangzhou, China. We conducted a cluster-randomized control trial with a total of 464 participants (intervention, n = 186; control, n = 276) between March 2018 and May 2019. The self-management intervention lasted for 6 months, consisting of health education, health promotion, group chat, and blood pressure (BP) monitoring. All individuals in the baseline and follow-up surveys were assessed for BP and completed a hypertension knowledge questionnaire, self-efficacy scale, self-management scale, and social support scale. A total of 253 participants (intervention, n = 110; control, n = 143) completed the follow-up survey and were included in the analysis. The adjusted mean differences in the changes in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) between the intervention and control groups were −6.9 (95% Confidence Interval (CI) −11.2 to −2.6; p = 0.002) and −3.1 (95% CI −5.7 to −0.6; p = 0.016) mmHg, respectively. Individuals who participated in the intervention program had better BP monitoring, improved their hypertension self-management as well as parts of their disease knowledge and self-efficacy. The WeChat-based self-management intervention may be a feasible and efficient program to help Chinese community middle-aged and elderly hypertensive patients lower BP and improve self-management.

Keywords: hypertension; mHealth; intervention; self-management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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