The August issue of the journal "Ethnicity and Disease" is dedicated to articles focused on health in hypertension and related organ damage. Two articles from our own Johns Hopkins Center to Eliminate Cardiovascular Health Disparities, directed by Lisa Cooper, professor in General Internal Medicine, are included. In an original report, Tanvir Hussain summarizes findings from the Reducing Disparities and Controlling Hypertension in Primary Care (ReDCHiP) care management program, which was implemented in six primary care practices in the Baltimore metropolitan area between 2012 and 2015. Care management was incorporated into their disparities intervention program as it is an accepted approach to population management of chronic disease currently reimbursed by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Using a quasi-experimental, observational study design, they found that among patients who entered the care management program and completed all three sessions, blood pressure control was achieved with significant reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure compared to non-participants. In addition, hypertension disparities between blacks and whites were reduced; however, because this approach had limited reach and not all participants completed the sessions, the authors suggest caution in relying on care management alone to reduce hypertension disparities.
Read the full article here: The Role of Care Management as a Population Health Intervention to Address Disparities and Control Hypertension
In that same issue, a commentary led by Lisa Cooper highlights the importance of building academic-community partnerships in conducting sustainable approaches to addressing health disparities by highlighting the collaborative work of the research team and community stakeholders of the Community Advisory Board of the Johns Hopkins Center to Eliminate Cardiovascular Health Disparities. This article, “Reaching for Health Equity and Social Justice in Baltimore: The Evolution of an Academic-Community Partnership and Conceptual Framework to Address Hypertension Disparities,” summarizes how the Community Advisory Board has shaped the center’s approach to stakeholder engagement in research and community outreach to achieve health equity.
Read the full article here: Reaching for Health Equity and Social Justice in Baltimore
-Sherita Golden, Executive Vice Chair
