Evaluation of group visits for Chinese hypertensives based on primary health care center

Background: Hypertension is becoming a main health problem worldwide, but there is little evidence as to how care for hypertensive patients should be organized and delivered in the community to help improve blood pressure control. Group visit (GV) as a new care-delivering model has been shown to be less costly and have quality that is equal to or of better quality than usual care. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of GVs for Chinese hypertensive patients compared with usual care.

Methods: A randomized, controlled trial was conducted, and a total of 1024 patients participated in the study. The patients in the GV groups received health care services in group format. The outcomes on blood pressure, treatment compliance, and self-efficacy were measured at baseline and at 6 months follow-up.

Results: The average diastolic blood pressure decrease in the GV groups (1.5 mm Hg) was more than that in the control groups (0.4 mm Hg) significantly. In the GV groups, compliance with medicine, physical activities, and diet increased to 14.7%, 9.7%, and 10.1%, respectively, which is more significant than that in the control groups (2.0%, 1.6%, and 8.0%); self-reported health and self-efficacy also improved significantly.

Conclusion: The results suggest that the GV model is an acceptable and effective model for managing Chinese hypertensive patients in primary health care centers, and it could be a complement to the traditional individual office visit.