title: The effect of a community-based self-help multimodal behavioral intervention in Korean American seniors with high blood pressure.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Great strides have been made in improving heart health in the United States during the last 2 decades, yet these strides have not encompassed many ethnic minority populations. There are significant health disparity gaps stemming from both a paucity of valid research and a lack of culturally sensitive interventions. In particular, many Korean Americans with chronic illnesses encounter difficulty navigating the healthcare system because of limited health literacy.
  
  
  METHODS
  The effect of a multimodal Self-Help Intervention Program on the Control of High Blood Pressure (HBP) was tested in a community-based clinical trial for Korean American seniors. Of 440 seniors enrolled, 369 completed the study (184 in the intervention group and 185 in the control group; mean age = 70.9±5.3 years). The intervention group received 6 weekly educational sessions on HBP management skill building, including health literacy training, followed by telephone counseling and home blood pressure (BP) monitoring for 12 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Findings support that the Self-Help Intervention Program on the Control of HBP was effective in controlling BP in this ethnic/linguistic minority population. The BP control rates for the intervention and control groups were 49.5% vs. 43.2% at baseline, 58.5% vs. 42.4% at 6 months, 67.9% vs. 52.5% at 12 months, and 54.3% vs. 53.0% at 18 months. Significant changes were observed over time in some psychobehavioral outcomes, including self-efficacy for BP control, medication adherence behavior, HBP knowledge, and depression.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study findings suggest that the multimodal Self-Help Intervention Program on the Control of HBP is effective at promoting optimal HBP control for this ethnic/linguistic minority population.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  NCT00406614.
authors.affiliation: Korean Resource Center, Ellicott City, Maryland;
authors.forename: Kim B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland;
authors.forename: Hae-Ra
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, California;
authors.forename: Boyun
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Huh
authors.affiliation: Connell School of Nursing, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts;
authors.forename: Tam
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut;
authors.forename: Hochang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. mkim@nursing.utexas.edu.
authors.forename: Miyong T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology*; D001794:Blood Pressure; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003153:Community Health Services; D003376:Counseling; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Q000208:ethnology*; D057220:Health Literacy; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D054525:Minority Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011446:Prospective Studies; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology*; D013689:Telephone; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Korean Americans.; behavioral intervention; blood pressure; community-based participatory research; health disparity; health literacy; high blood pressure; hypertension