Motivational interventions in community hypertension screening

To evaluate different techniques intended to motivate community residents to have their blood pressures taken, five inner-city target areas with comparable, predominantly Black, populations were selected. A sample of about 200 households in each of four areas were subjected to different motivational interventions; in one of these four areas, households were approached in a series of four sequential steps. The fifth target area served as a control. Findings establish that home visits by community members trained to take blood pressure measurements (BPMs) in the home produces much larger yields of new (previously unknown) hypertensives than more passive techniques such as invitational letters and gift offers. Prior informational letters, including letters specifying time of visit, do not affect refusals or increase the yield. More 'passive' motivational techniques yield a higher proportion of previously known hypertensives than the more 'active' outreach efforts.