Discussion
calmness, depression, pain
CVD, HYPERTENSION
The goal of the Vet-COACH trial was to test a peer-support intervention aimed at improving cardiovascular health and quality of life among veterans who resided in areas with a high prevalence of hypertension. We used a novel neighborhood-based strategy and recruited a racially diverse population with low annual income. We found that the peer health coaching intervention did not improve blood pressure levels but led to improvements in mental HRQOL, as measured by the SF-12 MCS score, which included questions about impact on emotions, ability to function, pain interfering with work, energy level, calmness, and depression. The difference of 3.64 points exceeded the minimally important difference (ie, smallest change in an outcome that a patient would identify as important) of 3 for the SF-12 MCS score,Although disproportionately affected by CVD, Black adults remain underrepresented in clinical trials.