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Abstract
Despite pharmacologic advances, medication non-adherence continues to challenge primary care providers in blood pressure (BP) management. Medical, nursing and pharmacy students (n = 11) were recruited and trained as health coaches for uninsured, hypertensive patients (n = 25) of a free clinic in an uncontrolled open trial. Pre–post analysis was conducted on BP, medication adherence, frequency of home BP monitoring, and health behavior (eg, diet, exercise). Patient satisfaction and feasibility of a student coach model was qualitatively evaluated. In the 12 patients who completed the intervention, an increase in medication adherence as measured by the Brief Medication Questionnaire was observed (P < .01), with a 11mmHg reduction in systolic BP (P = .03). Qualitative data showed patient satisfaction with the intervention and other health behavior change. This feasibility study shows use of student health coaches to combat medication non-adherence in uninsured, hypertensive adults is promising.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The preparation of this manuscript was supported by K23-HL107391 to A. Busch from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute or the National Institutes of Health.
This research was supported by a research fellowship from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation.
The authors acknowledge all the students who served as coaches for this study. The authors also acknowledge David Margolius and his University of California San Francisco colleagues for assistance in developing health coach training materials.