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Effectiveness of a Chatbot-Based Hypertension Management Program on Selected Outcomes Among Community-Dwelling Older
Khanisorn Ransinyo1, Samoraphop Banharak1, Ladawan Panpanit1
1Department of Gerontological Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand.
Aim:
Hypertension remains poorly controlled among older adults because self-care support between outpatient visits is rarely sustained. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a chatbot-based hypertension management program on knowledge, health behaviors, medication adherence, blood pressure control, and selected biomarkers among community-dwelling older adults with hypertension.
Design:
Quasi-experimental study.
Methods:
A two-group pretest-posttest design was conducted in two healthcare settings: the experimental group was recruited from a tertiary hospital outpatient department and the control group from a primary care health promoting hospital. Sixty-eight participants were recruited using consecutive sampling and assigned to an experimental group (n = 34) or a control group (n = 34). The experimental group received a 12-week chatbot-based program combining education, behavioral monitoring, and lifestyle counseling. The control group received usual care using a hypertension education manual. Outcomes were assessed at baseline and after 12 weeks.
Results:
The experimental group showed improvements in hypertension-related knowledge, health behaviors, medication adherence, and blood pressure control. The control group showed no improvement in systolic and a rise in diastolic blood pressure. After adjustment for baseline values and for the demographic characteristics that differed at baseline, the experimental group demonstrated better knowledge (p = 0.002), health behaviors (p = 0.018), medication adherence (p< 0.001) and blood pressure control than the control group (adjusted systolic 127.43 compared to 135.80 mmHg, p = 0.009; adjusted diastolic 69.61 compared to 80.36 mmHg, p< 0.001). No significant adjusted between-group differences in biomarkers were observed.
Conclusion:
A chatbot-supported hypertension management program was associated with better self-management and blood pressure control among community-dwelling older adults, although the non-randomized design and recruitment from different settings mean that the findings are preliminary. Longer follow-up is needed to determine effects on biological indicators. Randomized designs are recommended in future studies to strengthen the generalizability of the findings.