Engaging Religious Leaders to Reduce Blood Pressures in Tanzanian Communities

Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM)

Status: Enrolling

Conditions: Hypertension

Treatments: Behavioral: Religious Engagement in Health Intervention

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT05416372

21-06023670

R01HL161673 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Details and patient eligibility

About

The investigators hypothesize that communities in which religious leaders are provided with education about blood pressure and how to measure blood pressure will have lower overall average blood pressures than communities in which religious leaders do not receive education about blood pressure.

Full description

This research is being done to determine whether the Religious Engagement in Health Intervention can reduce community blood pressure. The study is being conducted in the Northwestern Tanzania. 20 communities will be involved: 10 will be randomized to the Religious Engagement in Health Intervention arm, and 10 will be randomized to the control arm. The Religious Engagement in Health Intervention includes the following three evidence-based components: (1) educational sessions for Christian and Muslim leaders on religious teachings and medical aspects of blood pressure, (2) equipping religious leaders to provide blood pressure teaching in their communities using knowledge learned from educational sessions and through longitudinal mentorship meetings, and (3) community blood pressure screening organized by religious leaders in partnership with local health care workers, and referrals for clinical care as needed.

Enrollment: 24,000 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 35+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Adult ≥35 years of age
• Has lived in the community for ≥1 year
• Household identified for random sampling is primary residence: has slept in the household at least once in the past 2 weeks and considers this their primary residence

Exclusion criteria

• First-degree relative from the same household already enrolled
• Relative of the same sex from the same household already enrolled

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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24,000 participants in 2 patient groups

Control communities

No Intervention group

Description:

Communities randomized to the control arm will receive a strengthening of the capacity to manage blood pressure at their local health center. Healthcare workers at the local health center will receive standard supplies, reference materials, and training in blood pressure measurement and management on-site. In the event of any stock-outs due to higher demand for antihypertensives during the trial implementation, the trial will temporarily provide these medications to primary health facilities until the Ministry of Health supply chain is restored. Of note, control communities will receive Religious Engagement in Health Intervention after the trial is complete.

Religious Engagement in Health Intervention communities

Experimental group

Description:

Communities randomized to the intervention arm will receive a strengthening of the capacity to manage blood pressure at their local health center plus Religious Engagement in Health Intervention for blood pressure (BP), which includes three evidence-based components; 1) educational sessions for Christian and Muslim leaders on religious teachings and medical aspects of BP, 2) equipping religious leaders to provide BP teaching in their communities using knowledge learned from educational sessions and through longitudinal mentorship meetings, and 3) community BP screening organized by religious leaders in partnership with local health care workers, and referrals for clinical care as needed.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Religious Engagement in Health Intervention