Table 1. An overview of the HOME BP website.
Content | Description |
---|---|
Session 1- An introduction to HOME BP | This session contains: • An interactive quiz about the health benefits of taking the correct medication. • Rationale for monitoring BP at home for one week every month (i.e. overcoming clinical inertia and providing a reliable measure of BP) • Discussion of common concerns (e.g. side effects of changing medication). • Information about the prescriber and supporter’s role in HOME BP. |
Session 2- Learning to monitor BP at home | This session contains: • A video and instructions showing patients how to monitor their BP at home. • An explanation of what BP readings mean using a traffic light system (red = very high, amber = too high, green = normal, blue = too low). • A description of what to do if you have very high (red) or very low (blue) readings when monitoring in the study. • Patient stories about using HOME BP successfully to control BP. |
Monthly home monitoring | Once patients have completed session 2 they are able to monitor their BP for 7 consecutive (if possible) days a month. They can then enter their readings into HOME BP to receive personalised feedback about whether the average of their readings means that they require a medication change. If patients require a medication change then their prescriber is informed and patients can write a message within HOME BP to the prescriber about their readings (e.g. if there are any factors that the patient wants the prescriber to consider when prescribing). |
Session 3- An introduction to lifestyle changes that can control BP | This session contains: • An explanation of how lifestyle changes can help to control BP. • Information about the benefits of each lifestyle change that HOME BP can support (diet, physical activity, weight loss, salt restriction and alcohol reduction). • Information about the ease of making changes, to increase confidence. • The ability to choose which lifestyle change(s) to try. |