Efficacy of a culturally and linguistically competent community health coach intervention for Chinese with hypertension

Abstract

Purpose: To develop and pilot test the efficacy of a culturally and linguistically sensitive, community health coach (CHC)-based intervention in Chinese immigrants in improving blood pressure control and medication adherence. Design: This study was conducted in 2017 with a cross-sectional design (n = 23). A CHC intervention was implemented using one 25-minute group educational presentation plus one 10-minute question and answer session at baseline, followed by four, 10-minute bi-weekly group question-and-answer sessions. Findings: There was a significant reduction in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure from baseline to week 8: Systolic BP −17.33 (±11.32) (p < 0.005) and diastolic BP −9.58 (±6.57) (p < 0.005). The mean score for medication adherence was 10.56 (±3.24) (possible range 3–15) at baseline and there was no significant change at week 8 (mean 10.89 ± 3.95) (p = 0.86). Conclusion: The CHC-based hypertension management program showed significant reductions in both systolic and diastolic blood pressures in Chinese immigrants. Since the proposed CHC-based hypertension management program is low cost and easy to establish, further investigation is recommended to generate more results for comparison. Practice Implications: There is potential for the CHC intervention to be implemented in clinical settings to help Chinese immigrants at large achieve optimal blood pressure control.