Task Shifting and Blood Pressure Control in Ghana (TASSH)

May 4, 2017 updated by: NYU Langone Health

Task Shifting and Blood Pressure Control in Ghana: A Cluster-Randomized Trial

The goal of this study is to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of the World Health Organization Package targeted at Cardiovascular (CV) risk assessment and hypertension control, delivered by Community Health Nurses as part of Ghana's Community based Health Planning and Services program, versus provision of health insurance coverage, on blood pressure reduction. Findings from this study will provide policy makers and other stakeholders needed information to recommend efficient cost-effective policy with regards to comprehensive CV risk reduction in patients with hypertension in low resource settings.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are experiencing an epidemic of cardiovascular disease (CVD) propelled by rapidly increasing rates of hypertension. Barriers to hypertension control in SSA include poor access to care and high out-of-pocket costs. Although SSA bears 24% of the global disease burden, it has only 3% of the global health workforce. Given such limited resources, cost-effective strategies, such as task shifting, are needed to mitigate the rising CVD epidemic in SSA. Ghana, a country in SSA with an established community health worker program integrated within a national health insurance scheme provides an ideal platform to evaluate implementation of the World Health Organization (WHO) task-shifting strategy. This study will evaluate the comparative effectiveness of the implementation of the WHO Package targeted at CV risk assessment versus provision of health insurance coverage,on blood pressure (BP) reduction.

Using a cluster randomized design, 32 community health centers (CHCs) and district hospitals in Ghana will be randomized to either the intervention group (16 CHCs) or the control group (16 CHCs). A total of 640 patients with uncomplicated hypertension (BP 140-179/90-99 mm Hg and absence of target organ damage) will be enrolled in this study (20 patients per CHC). The intervention consists of WHO Package of CV risk assessment, patient education, initiation and titration of antihypertensive medications, behavioral counseling on lifestyle behaviors, and medication adherence every three months for 12 months. The primary outcome is the mean change in systolic BP from baseline to 12 months. The secondary outcomes are rates of BP control at 12 months; levels of physical activity, percent change in weight, and dietary intake of fruits and vegetables at 12 months; and sustainability of intervention effects at 24 months. All outcomes will be assessed at baseline, six months and 12 months. Trained community health nurses will deliver the intervention as part of Ghana's community-based health planning and services (CHPS) program. Findings from this study will provide policy makers and other stakeholders needed information to recommend scalable and cost-effective policy with respect to comprehensive CV risk reduction and hypertension control in resource-poor settings.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

757

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Ghana
      • Kumasi, Ghana
        • Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

40 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Health facility Inclusion: Participating health facilities will be selected from areas that are geographically distant from one another with equal urban/rural mix in the Ashanti Region, which has 170 community health centers. Of these, we will recruit 32 for this study. Eligible facilities must have at least one community health nurse employed in the CHPS program; be a certified National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) provider; and have basic capability for blood tests.
  • Patient Inclusion: To be eligible for the study, patients must fulfill the following criteria: a) are registered to receive care at the health center; b) are adults age 40 years and older; c) have BP 140-179/90-100 mm Hg and are not on treatment for hypertension; and c) can provide informed consent. Given low literacy levels, consent will be provided both verbally and in written form.

Exclusion Criteria:

-Patients will be excluded if they have: a) previous diagnosis of diabetes, coronary artery disease, transient ischemic attacks, stroke, heart failure, or angina: b) BP>180/100 mm Hg; c) positive urine dipstick for protein; d) are pregnant; and e) unable to comply with the follow-up requirements or provide informed consent. Patients with history of transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), stroke, heart failure, diabetes, angina, claudication, and BP>180/100 mm Hg will be referred to the district hospitals for further management.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: WHO CVD Risk Assessment package
Arm#1 (Intervention Group): Provided Ghana's National Health Insurance and the WHO CVD Risk Assessment package for 12 months.
Behavioral: WHO CVD risk assessment package
Arm#1 (Intervention Group): Provided Ghana's National Health insurance and the WHO CVD Risk Assessment package for 12 months.
Sham Comparator: Health Insurance only
Arm#2 (Control group): Provided Ghana's National Health Insurance for 12 months, brief behavioral counseling at baseline,and usual care.
Behavioral: Health Insurance only
Arm#2 (Control group): Provided Ghana's National Health Insurance for 12 months, brief behavioral counseling at baseline, and usual care.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Mean change in systolic Blood Pressure (BP)
Time Frame: Baseline to 12 months
BP control is defined as BP<140/90
Baseline to 12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Physical activity levels,change in weight,dietary intake of fruits and vegetables
Time Frame: 12 months and 24 months
12 months and 24 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

NYU Langone Health

Collaborators

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Gbenga Ogedegbe, MD, MS, MPH, NYU Langone Medical Center

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

May 1, 2012

Primary Completion (Actual)

October 1, 2016

Study Completion (Actual)

October 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 27, 2013

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 28, 2013

First Posted (Estimate)

March 1, 2013

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 8, 2017

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 4, 2017

Last Verified

May 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 12-01631
  • 1U01HL114198-01 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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