Addressing Racial Disparities in Hypertension Management: Closing the Gap

Authors

Laura N. Okolie, University of LynchburgFollow

Specialty

Family Medicine

Advisor

Dr. Elyse Watkins

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the article is to bring awareness to racial disparities in hypertension (HTN) management and discuss various strategies to help close the racial disparity gap in HTN control and adverse uncontrolled HTN- related outcomes.

Method: A PubMed literature search was conducted with search terms HTN, HTN management, health disparities, and racial disparities. Twenty pertinent articles were retrieved and served as the basis for this clinical review.

Results: While there are multiple articles acknowledging the racial disparity in HTN management, there remains a lack of demonstrated and documented evidence discussing strategies implemented to narrow racial disparity in hypertension control.

Conclusion: There has been increased recognition of racial disparities in HTN management over the last several years, especially among minority communities in the United States. While there is still much work that needs to be done, some progress has been made with efforts, such as Kaiser Permanente’s intentional HTN disparity improvement intervention. These efforts show that multilevel team-based approaches can address HTN disparities for Black/African Americans and help close the gap. Further research, quality improvement, and implementation efforts are necessary to observe a tangible difference in HTN control in the most vulnerable populations. This research should ultimately encourage and challenge stakeholders to implement these strategies and help narrow the racial disparity gap in HTN control.

Recommended Citation

Okolie LN. Addressing Racial Disparities in Hypertension Management: Closing the Gap. University of Lynchburg DMSc Doctoral Project Assignment Repository. 2022; 4(2).