title: Hypertension identification via emergency responders: a randomized controlled intervention study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective was to test the effectiveness of a mail campaign that included blood pressure (BP) measurements from patients treated by emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to motivate them to (re)check their BP at a fire station. The mailing used a 2×2 research design tailoring on risk and source personalization.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this randomized controlled trial, participants were randomized into a control group or one of four experimental groups. Participants residing in one of four fire departments in a Pacific Northwest metropolitan area were eligible if they had a systolic BP≥160 mm Hg and/or diastolic BP≥100 mm Hg when seen by EMTs during the study period (July 2007-September 2009).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 7106 eligible participants, 40.7% were reached for a follow-up interview. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that although the absolute number of fire station BP checks was low (4%), participants who received any mailed intervention had a 3 to 5-fold increase in the odds of reporting a fire station BP check over controls. Fire station visits did not differ by type of tailored mailing.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Partnering with Emergency Medical Services is an innovative way to identify high-risk community members for population health interventions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Services, University of Washington, Box 357660, Seattle, WA 91895 USA.
authors.forename: Hendrika
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Meischke
authors.forename: Brooke R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Ike
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fahrenbruch
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kuniyuki
authors.forename: Peggy
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hannon
authors.forename: Malcolm R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Parks
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Forehand
authors.forename: Marcia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weaver
authors.forename: Jeffrey R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Harris
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D060731:Emergency Responders / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Emergency Medical Services; Health Behavior; Health Services Research; Hypertension; Public Health; Randomized Controlled Trial