Efficacy of empowerment strategies for patients with hypertension: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease has caused heavy health care burdens in many countries, and hypertension (HTN) is a well-known independent cardiovascular risk factor. To assess the efficacy of empowerment strategies that affect systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), body mass index (BMI), quality of life, and self-management behaviours for patients with hypertension. A literature search of the Cochrane Library, PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and several Chinese medical databases was performed. Study screening, quality assessment, data extraction, and meta-analysis were conducted according to Cochrane standards. Eleven randomised controlled trials with 988 subjects were identified. Relative to control groups, the empowerment strategies showed significant decreases in SBP (the mean difference [MD] = 9.46, 95 % confidence interval [CI] = 6.36-12.55, p <  0.00001) and DBP (MD = 6.68, 95 % CI = 3.07-10.29, p =  0.0003). However, no significant difference was found in BMI (p = 0.05). Subgroup analysis showed significant differences in the improvement of both SBP and DBP among the various groups, regardless of the duration and type of interventions. Empowerment strategies can decrease both SBP and DBP in hypertension patients. However, its influence on patients' BMI, quality of life, and self-management behaviour remains unclear. Empowerment strategies are useful for controlling the blood pressure of hypertension patients.