Assessment of a blood pressure measurement training programme for lay observers

This study assessed a training programme attended by 25 observers, intentionally chosen for their lay status, who were invited to participate in a prevalence of hypertension study. The results highlight the fact that the 14 trainee observers finally selected were comparable to professionals in terms of both the estimated validity of the blood pressure measurement [the mean difference (standard deviation) compared with the expert being -0.4 (1.8) mmHg for systolic blood pressure and 0.0 (1.8) mmHg for diastolic blood pressure] and estimated inter-observer variability (100% of the observers complying with the criteria recommended for professional health-care workers), even though the training given to the former was in no way more comprehensive than or distinct from that recommended for professional health-care workers in community studies.