Period: November 2021 – November 2022

Financier: Health Research Scholarship Call 2021-2022

Principal researchers: Pablo Gulayin, Diana Pinto, Ana Cavallo, Mariana Ávila, Julio Leandro Degese 

Summary: Adherence to treatment is one of the main factors associated with poor control of chronic non-communicable diseases. The COVID-19 pandemic made it even more difficult to monitor and control people with chronic diseases, including people with high blood pressure (HTN). Remote mobile health interventions can help improve therapeutic adherence in this context. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the effect and feasibility of an intervention through the sending of short educational videos on therapeutic adherence and blood pressure in hypertensive people under medical treatment in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic after 8 months of follow-up. .

To meet the objectives, a before/after study will be carried out in five primary health care centers in the town of Almirante Brown, province of Buenos Aires. 125 hypertensive patients under medical treatment who previously participated in a Salud Investiga 2019-2020 research project will be invited to participate in the study. For 4 months, participants will receive 6 short videos with counseling messages based on the AHT clinical practice guide of the National Ministry of Health. The medication possession rate will be analyzed prior to the intervention and for a period of 4 months after it. It is expected that the present study will provide useful and practical information for the design of interventions aimed at improving the monitoring and control of NCDs in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives:

Primary objective: 

• To evaluate the effect of a mobile health intervention (based on the sending of short educational videos), on therapeutic adherence evaluated through the medication possession rate (MPR), in people with a diagnosis of arterial hypertension under pharmacological treatment who They receive care in primary health care centers (CAPS) in the town of Almirante Brown, Province of Buenos Aires, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Secondary objectives:

• To evaluate the effect of the aforementioned intervention on the blood pressure of hypertensive people under pharmacological treatment in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Evaluate the intervention in terms of feasibility: indicators of implementation of the intervention and its operation.