In the China Rural Hypertension Control Project (CRHCP), a cluster randomized trial, 163 villages were randomly assigned to the village doctor-led intervention and 163 villages to control. A total of 33,995 individuals aged ≥40 years with an untreated BP ≥140/90 mm Hg or treated BP ≥130/80 mm Hg or with an untreated BP ≥130/80 mm Hg and a history of clinical CVD were recruited into the study. The village doctor-led multifaceted intervention is designed to overcome barriers at the healthcare system, provider, patient, and community levels. Village doctors receive training on standard BP measurement, protocol-based hypertension treatment, and health coaching. They also receive technical support and supervision from hypertension specialists/primary care physicians and performance-based financial incentives. Study participants receive health coaching on home BP monitoring, lifestyle changes, and adherence to medications. The primary outcome is BP control (<130/80 mm Hg) at 18 months in phase 1 and CVD events over 36 months in phase 2.
The CRHCP will provide critically important data on the effectiveness, implementation, and sustainability of a hypertension control strategy in rural China for reducing the BP-related CVD burden.
Trial Number NCT03527719.