A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Telehealth Self-Management to Standard Outpatient Management in Underserved Black and Hispanic Patients Living with Heart Failure

Renee Pekmezaris, Christian N. Nouryan, Rebecca Schwartz, Stacy Castillo, Amgad N. Makaryus, Deborah Ahern, Meredith B. Akerman, Martin L. Lesser, Lorinda Bauer, Lawrence Murray, Kathleen Pecinka, Roman Zeltser, Meng Zhang, Paola Dimarzio

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

46 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Although the American Heart Association promotes telehealth models to improve care access, there is limited literature on its use in underserved populations. This study is the first to compare utilization and quality of life (QoL) for underserved black and Hispanic heart failure (HF) patients assigned to telehealth self-monitoring (TSM) or comprehensive outpatient management (COM) over 90 days. Methods: This randomized controlled trial enrolled 104 patients. Outcomes included emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, QoL, depression, and anxiety. Binary outcomes for utilization were analyzed using chi-square or Fisher's exact test. Poisson or negative binomial regression, repeated-measures analysis of variance, or generalized estimating equations were also used as appropriate. Results: Of 104 patients, 31% were Hispanic, 69% black, 41% women, and 72% reported incomes of <$10,000/year. Groups did not differ regarding binary ED visits (relative risk [RR] = 1.37, confidence interval [CI] = 0.83-2.27), hospitalization (RR = 0.92, CI = 0.57-1.48), or length of stay in days (TSM = 0.54 vs. COM = 0.91). Number of all-cause hospitalizations was significantly lower for COM (TSM = 0.78 vs. COM = 0.55; p = 0.03). COM patients reported greater anxiety reduction from baseline to 90 days (TSM = 50-28%; COM = 57-13%; p = 0.05). Conclusions: These findings suggest that TSM is not effective in reducing utilization or improving QoL for underserved patients with HF. Future studies are needed to determine whether TSM can be effective for populations facing health care access issues.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)917-925
Number of pages9
JournalTelemedicine and e-Health
Volume25
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2019

Keywords

  • cardiology/cardiovascular disease
  • home health monitoring
  • telehealth
  • telemedicine

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