OUR Stress/ Emotion Management for Black/African American Women With Hypertension

Not Applicable

Completed

Brief Summary: Covid-19 is an additional stressor Black women have to deal with that may interfere with hypertension self-care management. Social connectedness is a source of resilience for Black women to promote mental and physical health. Unfortunately, in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, social distancing is a challenge further isolating Black women from their networks. How is social connectedness to manage stress and emotional well-being in a social-distancing society for Black women with hypertension? The research team proposed a synchronous web-based version of Enhanced Co-Created Health Education InterventioN (eCo-CHIN) that build the success and best practices derived from the original intervention. A Covid-19 session will be included as a way of helping Black women to maintain resilience and self-care during stressful times. The eCo-CHIN intervention is innovative and timely because the research team are using a synchronous platform preparing Black women on how to deal with Covid-19 while taking care of self. The primary investigator for this pilot study (Dr. Wright) is a Black Early Stage Investigator and former KL2 (career development) awardee. The interdisciplinary research team has the expertise and resources to deliver this Enhanced Co-CHIN intervention.

Detailed Description: The rationale for the study is that the adherence to healthy self-care behaviors reduces poor nutrition, altered sleep, sedentary behavior, psychosocial stress, and emotional dysregulation, thereby reducing negative impacts on the brain, since all these factors contribute to neural inflammation and increased BP. Health-promoting self-care behaviors have the known short-term effect of enhanced cognitive function (processing speed, attention, and executive function) through the use of The Repeatable Neuropsychiatric Battery (RBANS) which is also an innovative component of OUR Project. Thirty middle-aged Black women (45-65 years old) with a self-reported diagnosis of hypertension will be enrolled. The development of this group-delivered intervention will be an iterative process, and the research team will use this pilot data to submit an R21 for a 12-week intervention through the National Institutes on Aging.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

English speaking,
self-identification as Black/African America
diagnosis of hypertension (treated with medications and or lifestyle management)
female sex
access to a smart phone or a computer capable of connecting to the Internet

Exclusion Criteria

no access to computer with internet Smart phone
diagnosis of resistant hypertension defined as blood pressure that remains above goal despite concurrent use of three antihypertensive agents of different classes, one of which should be a diuretic/water pill.

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Stress and emotion Management for Black/African Americ	Stress and emotion management	Four weekly sessions delivered in a group format via Zoom teleconference. The following topics are listed in the workbook: Planning Your Information Diet; My Spheres of Influence Worksheet; Practical Wisdom for Tolerating Uncertainty; Reducing Anxiety With Thought Challenging; Reducing Anxiety Through Distraction Activities; Starting a Planning Practice; Starting a Daily Gratitude Practice; Starting a Daily Breathing Practice; Improving the Quality of Your Social Connections; Developing a Regular Exercise Routine; and Creating Your Stress-Resilience Action Plan. Each session will begin with a 15-30 minute check in on what went well, challenges, and Coronavirus Anxiety workbook. The Coronavirus Anxiety Workbook topics are complementary and the sessions will tie together the themes of comprehensive stress and emotional management through blood pressure knowledge/self-monitoring, diet, interpersonal communication skills building, and sleep hygiene.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Determine the Feasibility of a Synchronous Web-based Health Education Program, of OUR Project.	4 weeks	Weekly participant attendance will be recorded as date, month and year.
Determine the Acceptability of a Synchronous Web-based Health Education Program, of OUR Project.	1 month and 6 months post intervention	Investigator generated questions regarding the acceptability of the program. There are 13 questions ranked on a 10 point scale, with higher scores indicating a stronger acceptability of the program. Total scores range from 13 to 130 for each individual. All scores are averaged.
Change From Baseline at 1 Month Weight.	Baseline to 1 month post baseline	Weight measured in pounds.
Change From Baseline at 1 Month Waist Circumference.	Baseline to 1 month post baseline	Waist circumference measured in inches.
Change From Baseline at 1 Month Systolic Blood Pressure.	Baseline to 1 month baseline	Self-blood pressure collection using an automatic home blood pressure monitor systolic blood pressure in mmHg
Change From Baseline at 1 Month Diastolic Blood Pressure.	Baseline to 1 month baseline	Self-blood pressure collection using an automatic home blood pressure monitor diastolic blood pressure in mmHg