Dataset Information

A barber-based intervention for hypertension in African American men: design of a group randomized trial.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Barbershops constitute potential sites for community health promotion programs targeting hypertension (HTN) in African American men but such programs previously have not been formally evaluated.

Methods

A randomized trial (ClinicalTrials.gov no. NCT00325533) will test whether a continuous HTN detection and medical referral program conducted by influential peers (barbers) in a receptive community setting (barbershops) can promote treatment-seeking behavior and thus lower blood pressure (BP) among the regular customers with HTN. Barbers will offer a BP check with each haircut and encourage appropriate medical referral using real stories of other customers modeling the desired behaviors. A cohort of 16 barbershops will go through a pretest/posttest group-randomization protocol. Serial cross-sectional data collection periods (10 weeks each) will be conducted by interviewers to obtain accurate snapshots of HTN control in each barbershop before and after 10 months of either barber-based intervention or no active intervention. The primary outcome is BP control: BP <135/85 mm Hg (nondiabetic subjects) and <130/80 mm Hg (diabetic subjects) measured in the barbershop during the 2 data collection periods. The multilevel analysis plan uses hierarchical models to assess the effect of covariates on HTN control and secondary outcomes while accounting for clustering of observations within barbershops.

Conclusions

By linking community health promotion to the health care system, this program could serve as a new model for HTN control and cardiovascular risk reduction in African American men on a nationwide scale.

SUBMITTER: Victor RG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2638989 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

A barber-based intervention for hypertension in African American men: design of a group randomized trial.

Victor Ronald G RG Ravenell Joseph E JE Freeman Anne A Bhat Deepa G DG Storm Joy S JS Shafiq Moiz M Knowles Patricia P Hannan Peter J PJ Haley Robert R Leonard David D

American heart journal 20090101 1

<h4>Background</h4>Barbershops constitute potential sites for community health promotion programs targeting hypertension (HTN) in African American men but such programs previously have not been formally evaluated.<h4>Methods</h4>A randomized trial (ClinicalTrials.gov no. NCT00325533) will test whether a continuous HTN detection and medical referral program conducted by influential peers (barbers) in a receptive community setting (barbershops) can promote treatment-seeking behavior and thus lower ...[more]

PMID: 19081393

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Project description:RationaleVideo-based interventions hold promise for improving quality of life (QoL) among African American breast cancer patients.ObjectiveAn interactive, cancer-communication intervention using African American breast cancer survivors' narratives was tested in a randomized controlled trial to determine whether viewing survivor stories improved newly diagnosed African American breast cancer patients' QoL.MethodParticipants were 228 African American women with non-metastatic breast cancer interviewed five times over two years; 120 controls received standard medical care, and 108 intervention-arm participants also received a tablet-computer with survivor stories three times in 12 months. Growth curve models were used to analyze differences between arms in change in eight RAND 36-Item Health Survey subscales, depressive symptoms, and concerns about recurrence. Additional models explored the effects of intervention usage and other intervention-related variables on QoL among patients in the intervention arm.ResultsModels showed no effect of study arm on QoL, depressive symptoms, or concerns about recurrence. Longer use of the intervention was associated with an increase in concerns about recurrence and decline in three QoL subscales: emotional wellbeing, energy/fatigue, and role limitations due to physical health.ConclusionAlthough no significant impact of the intervention on QoL was observed when comparing the two study arms, in the intervention arm longer intervention use was associated with declines in three QoL subscales and increased concerns about recurrence. Women with improving QoL may have interacted with the tablet less because they felt less in need of information; it is also possible that encouraging patients to compare themselves to survivors who had already recovered from breast cancer led some patients to report lower QoL. Future work is warranted to examine whether adding different stories to this cancer-communication intervention or using stories in conjunction with additional health promotion strategies (e.g., patient navigation) might improve QoL for African American breast cancer patients.

Dataset Information

A barber-based intervention for hypertension in African American men: design of a group randomized trial.

Background

Methods

Conclusions

Publications

A barber-based intervention for hypertension in African American men: design of a group randomized trial.

Similar Datasets

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