Reducing Hypertension Disparities in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Study Purpose

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a autoimmune disease associated with an increased risk of developing coronary artery disease (CAD) and premature death, particularly in Black patients. Traditional CAD risk factors like hypertension (HTN) are both very common and poorly controlled among Black RA patients. Disparities in RA disease activity further increase the risk of CAD in this population. Black patients face significant barriers when seeking RA care, and the investigators suspect similar challenges affect HTN care in this population. The goals of this project are to identify and address barriers to HTN care in patients with RA to reduce disparities in HTN and CAD outcomes for Black RA patients. Interviews with Black RA patients, rheumatology providers, and primary care providers in the Duke University Health System will be conducted to describe barriers to HTN care in Black RA patients. Interviews will focus on access to care, patient-provider communication, coordination of care, and the challenges of managing HTN in patients with RA. These interviews will help us to develop an intervention that will focus on improving uncontrolled HTN in Black RA patients. The investigators plan to do this by empowering Black RA patients to actively participate in their HTN care, improving patient-provider communication, and improving coordination between primary care and rheumatology providers. If successful, our intervention has the potential to reduce rates of CAD and associated death for Black RA patients.

Recruitment Criteria

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Healthy volunteers are participants who do not have a disease or condition, or related conditions or symptoms

No
Study Type

An interventional clinical study is where participants are assigned to receive one or more interventions (or no intervention) so that researchers can evaluate the effects of the interventions on biomedical or health-related outcomes.


An observational clinical study is where participants identified as belonging to study groups are assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.


Searching Both is inclusive of interventional and observational studies.

Interventional
Eligible Ages 18 Years and Over
Gender All
More Inclusion & Exclusion Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

  • - 18 years old or older.
  • - Race self-identified as "Black" or "African American" - Uncontrolled hypertension.
  • - History of rheumatoid arthritis.
  • - Receive both primary care and rheumatology care from Duke Health System.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • - Age less than 18 years old.
  • - Other self-identified race.
  • - Healthy volunteers without rheumatoid arthritis and hypertension.
  • - Do not receive both primary care and rheumatology care from Duke Health System.
  • - Cognitive impairment with lack the capacity to consent to study participation.
  • - Pregnant women.
- Prisoners

Trial Details

Trial ID:

This trial id was obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, providing information on publicly and privately supported clinical studies of human participants with locations in all 50 States and in 196 countries.

NCT05760898
Phase

Phase 1: Studies that emphasize safety and how the drug is metabolized and excreted in humans.

Phase 2: Studies that gather preliminary data on effectiveness (whether the drug works in people who have a certain disease or condition) and additional safety data.

Phase 3: Studies that gather more information about safety and effectiveness by studying different populations and different dosages and by using the drug in combination with other drugs.

Phase 4: Studies occurring after FDA has approved a drug for marketing, efficacy, or optimal use.

N/A
Lead Sponsor

The sponsor is the organization or person who oversees the clinical study and is responsible for analyzing the study data.

Duke University
Principal Investigator

The person who is responsible for the scientific and technical direction of the entire clinical study.

N/A
Principal Investigator Affiliation N/A
Agency Class

Category of organization(s) involved as sponsor (and collaborator) supporting the trial.

Other, NIH
Overall Status Not yet recruiting
Countries United States
Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied.

Hypertension, Rheumatoid Arthritis
Arms & Interventions

Arms

Experimental: Blood pressure intervention arm

The investigators will recruit 25 Black RA patients with HTN for the study. Participants will be provided with a home blood pressure monitor, teaching from nursing staff regarding the correct use of the monitor, and a guide to help interpret normal and elevated blood pressure values. Participants will be instructed to obtain and record blood pressure values at least three times per week over the course of 3 months. Every 2 weeks, these results will be sent to the study team, and participants will complete a brief survey regarding other factors that may influence blood pressure control, including RA disease activity (RAPID3 score), pain, current use of acute RA therapies, anti-hypertensive medication use, anti-hypertensive medication adherence, and current perceived barriers to HTN self-management.

Interventions

Behavioral: - Blood pressure intervention arm

The intervention will focus on empowering patients to actively participate in their HTN care, facilitating patient-provider communication, and creating a cohesive care team to close the coordination loop for HTN management. This pilot intervention will help achieve these goals by providing participants with home blood pressure monitors and teaching, improving patient-provider communication regarding blood pressure and RA management, and initiating care coordination between rheumatology and primary care providers.

Contact a Trial Team

If you are interested in learning more about this trial, find the trial site nearest to your location and contact the site coordinator via email or phone. We also strongly recommend that you consult with your healthcare provider about the trials that may interest you and refer to our terms of service below.

Duke Health System, Durham, North Carolina

Status

Address

Duke Health System

Durham, North Carolina, 27710