Blood pressure screenings through community nursing health fairs: motivating individuals to seek health care follow-up.

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of blood pressure [BP] screenings through community-based health fairs. Effectiveness was measured by those with high BP readings who either made an appointment with or actually followed up with their primary care provider [PCP] in person following post-screening referral.

Data Sources: Anonymized data were provided for 958 individuals who obtained BP screening through a three-day health fair provided by the Ceres Police Department Nurse Program.

Conclusions: Of 958 screened, 170 (17.8%) were identified with high BP readings and provided with PCP referral. Data were analyzed on 124 individuals with high BP recordings. Of the 124 PCP referrals, 116 (93%) either made an appointment with or followed up in person with their PCP following BP screening. Of the 98 who visited with their PCP, 29 (30%) were either placed on BP medication, had their current BP medication dose increased, or were changed to another BP medication by their PCP.

Implications For Practice: Hypertension remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Nurse-operated health fairs, crafted to identify those with high BP readings, are promising as a simple and effective means in motivating individuals to seek follow-up care.