Interpreting and acting upon home blood pressure readings: A qualitative study

This article is made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund. Copyright @ 2013 Vasileiou et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Background: Recent guidelines recognize the importance of home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) as an adjunct to clinical measurements. We explored how people who have purchased and use a home blood pressure (BP) monitor make sense of, and act upon, readings and how they communicate with their doctor about the practice of home monitoring. Methods: A qualitative study was designed and participants were purposively recruited from several areas in England, UK. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 18 users of home BP monitors. The transcribed data were thematically analysed. Results: Interpretation of home BP readings is complex, and is often characterised by uncertainty. People seek to assess value normality using ‘rules of thumb’, and often aim to identify the potential causes of the readings. This is done by drawing on lay models of BP function and by contextualising the readings to personal circumstances. Based on the perceived causes of the problematic readings, actions are initiated, mostly relating to changes in daily routines. Contacting the doctor was more likely when the problematic readings persisted and could not be easily explained, or when participants did not succeed in regulating their BP through their other interventions. Most users had notified their doctor of the practice of home monitoring, but medical involvement varied, with some participants reporting disinterest or reservations by doctors. Conclusions: Involvement from doctors can help people overcome difficulties and resolve uncertainties around the interpretation of home readings, and ensure that the rules of thumb are appropriate. Home monitoring can be used to strengthen the patient-clinician relationship

Análise conceitual de autogestão do indivíduo hipertenso

Objetivou analisar conceito de autogestão do indivíduo hipertenso. Estudo teórico pautado na análise conceitual Walker e Avant mediante as bases de dados Scientific Electronic Library Brazil e Medical Literature Analysis and Retrievel System Online. Foram selecionados e analisados 14 artigos e 1 tese, em português e inglês, no recorte temporal de janeiro/2007 a setembro/2012. Antecedentes: ausência à consulta médica, falta de adesão ao tratamento do controle da pressão arterial, recomendações do padrão dietético adequado e estresse. Atributos: controle da pressão arterial e gestão da doença. Consequências: monitorização da pressão arterial domiciliar com melhora do controle, realização de gestão da doença, aceitação e compartilhamento no processo criação de metas de autogestão e atividades de cuidados pela equipe interdisciplinar mediante ações individualizadas. Concluiu-se que o conceito de autogestãoé um processo dinâmico e ativo, requerendo conhecimento, atitude, disciplina, determinação, comprometimento, autorregulação, empoderamento e autoeficácia, a fim de gerir a doença para o alcance de um viver saudável

Self-monitoring in hypertension: a web-based survey of primary care physicians

Although self-monitoring of blood pressure is common among people with hypertension, little is known about how general practitioners (GPs) use such readings. This survey aimed to ascertain current views and practice on self-monitoring of UK primary care physicians. An internet-based survey of UK GPs was undertaken using a provider of internet services to UK doctors. The hyperlink to the survey was opened by 928 doctors, and 625 (67%) GPs completed the questionnaire. Of them, 557 (90%) reported having patients who self-monitor, 191 (34%) had a monitor that they lend to patients, 171 (31%) provided training in self-monitoring for their patients and 52 (9%) offered training to other GPs. Three hundred and sixty-seven GPs (66%) recommended at least two readings per day, and 416 (75%) recommended at least 4 days of monitoring at a time. One hundred and eighty (32%) adjusted self-monitored readings to take account of lower pressures in out-of-office settings, and 10/5 mm Hg was the most common adjustment factor used. Self-monitoring of blood pressure was widespread among the patients of responding GPs. Although the majority used appropriate schedules of measurement, some GPs suggested much more frequent home measurements than usual. Further, interpretation of home blood pressure was suboptimal, with only a minority recognising that values for diagnosis and on-treatment target are lower than those for clinic measurement. Subsequent national guidance may improve this situation but will require adequate implementation