Intervention
hypertension
HYPERTENSION
A set of questions adopted for patients with hypertension for use in the web-based self-management support system was developed and evaluated by part of the research team in a pilot study with focus groups and individual interviews together with patients and healthcare professionals [After randomization to the intervention group, the participants were instructed by their nurse or physician on how to measure their BP and how to use the system at home. They received a BP monitor (Microlife BP A6 BT; Microlife, Widnau, Switzerland) with a written manual and were informed about supporting video films on the study home page. Participants were encouraged to receive motivational messages for healthy habits, which were selected together with the healthcare professional. Reminders were adjusted according to the patient's preferences.Every evening for eight consecutive weeks, the patients received a reminder via a text message sent to their mobile phone to measure and report their BP, pulse, medication intake, stress level, well being, physical activity, symptoms and side effects into the system. They received weekly motivational messages if they chose to receive them. Patients and professionals had access to a login-secured web portal for reported values that were visualized in graphs throughout the intervention period (Fig. After 8 weeks, the participants came back for a follow-up consultation with their nurse or physician at the PHCC. Patients and healthcare professionals were encouraged to use the graphs representing the patient's reported values as a basis for discussion.Example of an authentic graph displaying SBP in relation to physical activity. Data from [