The impact of a planned health education approach on the control of hypertension in a high risk population.

This paper reports on the effectiveness of a planned health education programme on enhancing the control of hypertension in a community demonstrating the highest rates of high blood pressure, cerebrovascular disease, and diseases of the heart in the State of Maryland. Within the community intervention programme, a specific focus was directed at younger black males (ages 18-49) who demonstrated the lowest rates of awareness, treatment, and control for their hypertension, as compared to all other age/race/sex groups. The programme consisted of targeted screenings, outreach, and follow-up; influencing specific health beliefs regarding diagnosis and treatment; and family and community support strategies. Formally trained community health workers provided educational counselling, monitoring, outreach and follow-up services in coordination with a community-wide health provider task force. Results to date indicate that this planned health education approach has been successful in significantly improving the control of hypertension in a high-risk population.