Competency in Home Blood Pressure Monitoring and Effect of Training Program on Competency
OC10-OC14
Correspondence
Dr. Shaikat Mondal,
Postgraduate Student, Department of Physiology, Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata-700073, West Bengal, India.
E-mail: drshaikat@gmail.com
Introduction: Blood Pressure (BP) measurement is the basis of diagnosis and treatment of hypertension. Automatic BP monitors are available for self-measurement of BP at home and it helps in adaptation of treatment strategy. However, proper measurement procedures are of paramount importance for credible BP readings.
Aim: To ascertain the level of competency in Home Blood Pressure Monitoring (HBPM) among patients and their family members (i.e., operators) and to find the effect of a simple educational program on improvement in the competency in HBPM.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with patients or their family members who measure BP at home. Procedure of HBPM, as practiced by the participants was observed by the surveyor physician and competency was scored on 17 item survey questionnaire. Then, an educational tool was used to educate the participants. Summative assessment was conducted after the training program by another session of HBPM. The data was tested statistically by chi-square and paired t-test with a=0.05.
Results: A total of 125 respondents of mean age 34.51±12.32 years participated in the survey. Among 17 items, overall competency score in HBPM before training program was 4.63±4.59. The competency score (16.31±2.53) significantly (p<0.001) increased after the training.
Conclusion: The HBPM procedure, as followed by patients or their family members is grossly deficient in accordance with standard protocol. This deficiency can be improved with simple educational program.