Storytelling Intervention for African Americans Living With Hypertension

Developing and Implementing a Storytelling Intervention for African Americans Living With Hypertension

Narrative communication (e.g., storytelling) is an approach that has contributed to behavioral change for individuals with conditions such as diabetes, breast cancer, and hypertension. The objective of this study is to conduct a feasibility and pilot study storytelling intervention for African Americans with hypertension. In the feasibility phase 30 African Americans with hypertension will be recruited to view nine patient stories and provide feedback on the effectiveness, usefulness, and satisfaction with the stories. Nine African Americans adults with hypertension were filmed, sharing experiences living with and managing hypertension; including, diet and exercise tips, suggestions for locating healthy foods, and motivational stories about successfully controlling hypertension. During the feasibility phase feedback will also be elicited from the participants about the best approaches for delivering a storytelling intervention, and obtain feedback on the resources and health information that would be helpful to an individual participating in a storytelling intervention. In the pilot study phase, 30 African Americans adults with hypertension will be recruited to participate in a 6-week trial, each week the participants will watch one story and review one module of health information accessible through the study specific website developed for the HBPStories study. Data will be collected at baseline and 6-weeks including systolic and diastolic blood pressure, medication adherence, health behaviors such as diet and physical activity, and psychosocial measures including positive affect and self-efficacy in the management of hypertension.

A 6-week web-based study. Systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and medication adherence will be measured at baseline and 6-weeks.

Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure, Unit of Measure: Percentage of Individuals with Elevated or High Blood Pressure

Self-reported using the DOSE-Nonadherence Scale, Unit of Measure: Percentage of Individuals reporting low, moderate, or high adherence

Self-reported using the Assessment of Dietary Adherence and Identification of Barriers to Healthy Eating, Unit of Measure: Percent of participants reporting a healthy diet

Inclusion Criteria: The study inclusion criteria are as follows: self-reported hypertension race/ethnicity: Black or African American prescribed antihypertensive medication age ≥ 18 years Exclusion Criteria: The exclusion criteria are: cognitive limitations that limit the ability to provide informed consent unable to speak or read English

De-identified participant data will be available one year after the last participant is recruited. Study protocol, informed consent, and study surveys will be available immediately after recruitment is completed.

The de-identified study data will become available one year after the last participant is recruited, and will be available for three years. Supporting information will be available as soon as recruitment is completed.