Effectiveness of a medical education intervention to treat hypertension in primary care.
OBJECTIVE
In Mexico, hypertension is among the top five causes for visits to primary care clinics; its complications are among the main causes of emergency and hospital care. The present study reports the effectiveness of a continuing medical education (CME) intervention to improve appropriate care for hypertension, on blood pressure control of hypertensive patients in primary care clinics.


METHODS
A secondary data analysis was carried out using data of hypertensive patients treated by family doctors who participated in the CME intervention. The evaluation was designed as a pre-/post-intervention study with control group in six primary care clinics. The effect of the CME intervention was analysed using multiple logistic regression modelling in which the dependent variable was uncontrolled blood pressure in the post-intervention patient measurement.


RESULTS
After the CME intervention, the net reduction of uncontrolled blood pressure between stages in the intervention group was 10.3%. The model results were that being treated by a family doctor who participated in the CME intervention reduced by 53% the probability of lack of control of blood pressure; receiving dietary recommendations reduced 57% the probability of uncontrolled blood pressure. Having uncontrolled blood pressure at the baseline stage increased the probability of lack of control in 166%, and per each unit of increase in body mass index the lack of control increased 7%.


CONCLUSIONS
CME intervention improved the medical decision-making process to manage hypertension, thus increasing the probability of hypertensive patients to have blood pressure under control.
Centro de Estudios Económicos y Sociales en Salud, Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez, Secretaría de Salud, Mexico.
Silvia
S
Martínez-Valverde
Angélica
A
Castro-Ríos
Ricardo
R
Pérez-Cuevas
Miguel
M
Klunder-Klunder
Guillermo
G
Salinas-Escudero
Hortensia
H
Reyes-Morales
D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D015897:Comorbidity; D003657:Decision Making; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing; D005260:Female; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011320:Primary Health Care; D015397:Program Evaluation; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric