A Health Literacy-Focused Self-Management Intervention for African Americans with High Blood Pressure: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objectives: Health literacy has been associated with better High Blood Pressure (HBP) self-management. Yet, self-management research has rarely incorporated health literacy as part of the intervention. We aimed to test a health literacy-focused self-management intervention in African Americans (AAs) with HBP.

Methods: We conducted a cluster-randomized pilot trial. The intervention consisted of health literacy-focused group education followed by phone counseling.

Results: There was no group difference for BP at 12 weeks. However, change in BP control rates from baseline to follow-up was greater for the intervention group than the control group (47.3% vs. 20.8%) after controlling for age. HBP literacy also increased in the intervention group but remained unchanged in the control group, though the difference was not statistically significant.

Conclusion: While we did not observe group difference for HBP outcomes, there was a clear trend of improved BP control in the intervention group. Implications for future research are discussed.