Behavioral interventions to improve hypertension control in the Veterans Affairs healthcare system

Abstract

Hypertension is a common and costly disease among US veterans. The Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system is the largest integrated healthcare provider in the United States and reviewing hypertension interventions developed in the VA may inform interventions delivered in other integrated healthcare systems. This review describes behavioral interventions to improve hypertension control that have been conducted in the VA since 1970. The authors identified 27 articles representing 15 behavioral interventional trials. Studies were heterogeneous across patients, providers, interventionist, and intervention components. The VA bridges services related to diagnosis, treatment, medication management, and behavioral counseling in a unified approach that supports collaboration and provides infrastructure for hypertension management.

Figure 1

Identification of included articles. The specific search strategy used was: ((((((“Hypertension “[Mesh] OR “hypertension” [Title/Abstract]) AND (“United States Department of Veterans Affairs” [Mesh] OR “Veterans” [Mesh] OR “Veterans Health” [Mesh] OR “Veterans” [Title/Abstract])) AND (“Intervention Studies” [Mesh] OR “Clinical Trial” [Publication Type]) AND English [lang])) AND (“1970/01/01”[PDat]: “2014/04/10”[PDat]))).