Effectiveness of a Digital Health Application for Primary Hypertension (Liebria)

Gaia AG

Status: Enrolling

Conditions: Hypertension

Treatments: Behavioral: liebria; Other: information brochure on hypertension

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; Industry

Identifiers

NCT06243978

liebria RCT 2024

Details and patient eligibility

About

This clinical trial with 328 patients with primary hypertension aims to investigate the effectiveness of the self-guided digital application liebria for patients with primary hypertension.

Full description

This clinical trial with 328 patients with primary hypertension aims to investigate the effectiveness of the self-guided digital application liebria for patients with primary hypertension. Inclusion criteria are: age ≥ 18; presence of primary hypertension (confirmed by medical certificate or equivalent); unmedicated or with existing antihypertensive drug therapy (with stable dose in the past 6 weeks prior to study enrolment); last reported office-based systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥ 140 mmHg followed by home-based SBP ≥ 135 mmHg; consent to participate. Exclusion criteria are: home-based SBP > 180 mmHg; > triple combination of antihypertensive medication; history of secondary hypertension (e.g., thyroid disease, kidney disease); pregnancy.

Patients will be randomized and allocated in a 1:1 ratio to either an intervention group, in which they will receive access to liebria in addition to treatment as usual (TAU, n = 164), or to a control group, in which they will receive a relevant brochure from the Deutsche Hochdruckliga (German Hypertension League) in addition to TAU (n = 164). TAU is defined as any therapy prescribed or recommended by the GP or specialists (e. g. cardiologist).

The primary endpoint will be home-based SBP, with 6 months post-allocation being the primary time point for assessment of effectiveness. Three months post-allocation will be used as an additional endpoint. Secondary endpoints will be patient activation, social and work-related functioning, medication adherence, home-based diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and pulse pressure.

Analysis of effectiveness of the intervention will be performed by ANCOVA of the primary endpoint and all secondary endpoints, in which the posttreatment scores will be compared between treatment groups (intervention group vs. control group), using the baseline scores of the respective outcome as a covariate.

Enrollment: 328 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Age ≥ 18

• Presence of primary hypertension, confirmed by submission of a medical certificate or equivalent (e.g., informal letter signed by primary care physician); relevant ICD-10-GM diagnoses:

  • I10.00 (Benign essential hypertension: Without indication of hypertensive crisis)
  • I10.90 (Essential hypertension, unspecified: Without indication of hypertensive crisis)

• Unmedicated or with existing antihypertensive drug therapy (with stable dose in the past 6 weeks prior to study enrolment)

• Last reported office-based systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥ 140 mmHg followed by home-based SBP ≥ 135 mmHg

• Consent to participate

Exclusion criteria

• Home-based SBP > 180 mmHg
• > Triple combination of antihypertensive medication
• History of secondary hypertension (e.g., thyroid disease, kidney disease)
• Pregnancy

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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328 participants in 2 patient groups

liebria

Experimental group

Description:

Participants allocated to the intervention group will receive access to liebria in addition to treatment as usual (TAU). reviga is a digital health application designed for individuals with hypertension, accessible through a web browser. The application focuses on evidence-based psychological and psychotherapeutic methods combined with psychoeducation and health behavior change. Topics addressed by liebria include clarifying and strengthening motivation, training the parasympathetic nervous system, recognizing and overcoming obstacles, strengthening impulse control, development of an individualized day plan, and relapse prevention. The program operates through interactive "dialogues", which are accompanied by illustrations, audio recordings, motivating text messages, worksheets, and summaries. Users are also encouraged to regularly complete short questionnaires to monitor their complaints. Once registered, the program remains accessible for 360 days.

Treatment:

Behavioral: liebria

brochure on hypertension

Other group

Description:

Participants allocated to the control group will receive a brochure from the Deutsche Hochdruckliga (German Hypertension League) in addition to TAU.

Treatment:

Other: information brochure on hypertension