Reducing Inequities in Care of Hypertension, Lifestyle Improvement for Everyone (RICH LIFE Project)

The investigators refined research aim is to determine if a clinic-based collaborative care
team, including a community health worker (CHW) to deliver community-based contextualized
care, reduces disparities in blood pressure control rates, lowers cardiovascular disease
(CVD) risk, and improves outcomes among patients with hypertension and other common comorbid
conditions when compared to standard of care health system approaches to CVD risk management,
including audit and feedback and staff and provider training.

Collaborative care includes care coordination and care management; regular and proactive
monitoring and treatment to target specific patient needs using validated clinical tools and
rating scales; and regular systematic caseload reviews by the care team and consultation with
experts for patients who do not show clinical improvement. A typical collaborative care team
includes the primary care provider, nurse care manager or coordinator, and other members of
the clinic staff involved in patient care.

Intervention protocols are designed to address common comorbidities (diabetes,
hyperlipidemia, depression and coronary heart disease), lifestyle factors (dietary intake,
physical activity, and smoking) and medication adherence. The investigators intensive
intervention treats the "whole" patient, driven by individual patient goals and priorities,
as opposed to the standard of care, which typically focuses on individual conditions. This
proposed study responds directly to patient desires to feel more equipped to be involved in
their care and manage multiple conditions that contribute to CVD. The investigators have
worked successfully in the past with a broad range of stakeholders, including community
members, patients, providers, and payors, and will continue to engage them through the
research and dissemination process.