Interventions led by pharmacists and community health workers are most likely to help patients with hypertension achieve disease control, according to research published July 19, 2024, in the American Heart Association’s (AHA’s) journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
With a pharmacist guiding them, participants in the meta-analysis saw their systolic number fall by as much as 7.3 points and their diastolic reading drop by as much as 3.9 points.
Researchers focused on randomized controlled trials of different interventions meant to address barriers to BP control, stratified according to what category of health care professional delivered the care.
Using random effects models and generalized estimating equations, investigators found that the biggest reductions in systolic BP and diastolic BP occurred under the direction of pharmacists, followed by community health workers.
In pairwise comparisons, pharmacists were much more effective than physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals at providing interventions.
The study authors concluded that, going forward, pharmacists and community health workers should have preferred roles in spearheading hypertension control efforts.