A Pharmacist Intervention to Improve Mother and Child Health

University of Iowa

Status: Completed

Conditions: Hypertension

Treatments: Behavioral: Research Pharmacist

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT06073054

202305322

1UM1TR004403-01 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Details and patient eligibility

About

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a research pharmacist can improve the health of new mothers and their babies. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Will postpartum women who had elevated blood pressure during pregnancy be willing to participate in the study, talk to a pharmacist about their health and the health of their child, and text us their blood pressure measurements?
• Will contact with the pharmacist improve the health of the mother and/or the child?

Participants will:

• complete a baseline demographic survey,
• be given a blood pressure cuff and taught how to use it,
• be asked to text us their blood pressure values 2 times per day for 7 days after enrollment,
• complete a phone call with a pharmacist discussing their health and the health of their baby,
• text us their blood pressure 1 time per day for 3 days 1 month after enrollment,
• have a 1 month follow-up phone call with the research pharmacist, and
• complete an exit survey to provide feedback about the study.

Enrollment: 25 patients

Sex: Female

Ages: 18 to 55 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• biological mother of a baby attending a 1-week to 6-month well-child visit,
• received prenatal care at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics,
• had at least 2 elevated blood pressures (>= 130 mmHg systolic or >= 80 mmHg diastolic) during pregnancy,
• owns a smartphone

Exclusion criteria

• arm circumference > 17 inches,
• prisoner status
• unable to provide own written informed consent

Trial design

Primary purpose: Screening

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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25 participants in 1 patient group

Research Pharmacist Monitoring

Experimental group

Description:

The pharmacist will help the mother find a primary care physician if she doesn't have one, obtain health insurance if she doesn't have any, and discuss any health-related information about herself or her child, as needed. These pharmacist interactions will occur 7 days after baseline and again 1 month later (the participant will be asked to measure and text their blood pressure again 1 time per day for 3 days during the follow-up month). If the participant's blood pressures become elevated, the pharmacist will provide behavioral and lifestyle interventions to attempt to lower the blood pressure. They may also recommend medications to the participant's physician. The pharmacist will have access to the participant's electronic medical record to obtain any blood pressure-related medications that the mother is prescribed as well as throughout the follow up to ensure any health-related conditions can be discussed, as necessary.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Research Pharmacist