Group Medical Visits Versus Usual Care for Illness Perception and Hypertension: A Randomized Pilot Study

Abstract

Despite separate evidence regarding illness perception (IP) and group medical visits (GMVs) for hypertension, research on both is limited. Here, we have assessed and compared the effectiveness of GMVs and usual care (UC) on IP and blood pressure (BP) in patients with hypertension. This was a two-group parallel randomized controlled study with 1:1 allocation. Patients with essential hypertension on antihypertensive medication and no cognitive impairments were screened for BP control status and eligibility. A web-based program randomly assigned them to the GMV and UC groups. Group medical visits were held once a month for 3 months. Primary and secondary outcome measures included improvements in IP and BP control. Among 152 participants, 40 and 43 were assigned to the GMV and UC groups, respectively. The control group had a 9.3% dropout rate. The chronic timeline and illness coherence improved significantly in the intervention group (p < .01). Systolic BP in the intervention group decreased significantly compared with that of the control group (Δ: −18.8 ± 18.4 mm Hg vs. Δ: −10.6 ± 12.5 mm Hg, p = .025). The participation in GMVs had a significant association with the odds of an increase in BP regulation (OR 3.8, 95% confidence interval 1.4–10.3, p = .007). Therefore, GMVs may be feasible for BP control in hypertensive patients with similar characteristics.