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Patient Judgments About Hypertension Control: The Role of Variability, Trends, and Outliers in Visualized Blood

Victoria Anne Shaffer1, Pete Wegier2,3, K D Valentine1

  • 1University of Missouri, Department of Psychological Sciences, Columbia, MO, United States.

Journal of Medical Internet Research
|March 27, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Patient perceptions of hypertension control are swayed by how blood pressure (BP) data is visualized, including averages, trends, and outliers. Effective data visualization is crucial for accurate hypertension management decisions.

Area of Science:

  • Health Informatics
  • Medical Visualization
  • Patient Decision Making

Background:

  • Uncontrolled hypertension remains a major US health issue despite available treatments.
  • Effective management requires accurate patient understanding of their condition.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how data visualizations of blood pressure (BP) impact patient perceptions of hypertension control.
  • To inform the development of visualizations supporting shared decision-making in hypertension treatment.

Main Methods:

  • Three online studies were conducted with patients having hypertension.
  • Participants reviewed vignettes with varying BP data visualizations (mean, standard deviation, trends, outliers).
  • Judgments on hypertension control and need for medication change were assessed.

Main Results:

  • Hypertension control judgments were significantly influenced by BP mean, standard deviation, data trends, and extreme values (outliers).
  • Both clinically relevant factors (BP mean) and non-relevant factors (variability, outliers) affected patient perceptions.

Conclusions:

  • Patient perception of hypertension control is susceptible to how BP data is presented visually.
  • Data visualizations can inadvertently mislead patients by emphasizing non-clinical factors.
  • Developing visualizations that highlight clinically meaningful information is essential for improving hypertension management.
Abstract

Keywords:
data visualizationhypertensionhypertension controlpatients’ judgmentprimary care

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