Dr. William "Brett" Perkison, part of team presenting poster on Self-Measured Blood Pressure at APHA Meeting
HOUSTON (Jan. 17, 2024) -- Dr. William "Brett" Perkison, MD, MPH, the Occupational Medicine Residency Program Director for the Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (SWCOEH), was part of team which presented a poster at the American Public Health Association Meeting in Atlanta in November.
The study, “Conducting a Needs Assessment for the Implementation of a Self-Measured Blood Pressure Program,” was conducted in seven non-rural clinics across Texas, addressing the critical issue of uncontrolled hypertension. The disease is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease, particularly among adults aged 45 and older in the United States.
Dr. Perkison was co-investigator on a team of UTHealth Houston researchers, including: Serena A. Rodriguez the lead and Primary Investigator, PhD, MA, MPH; Mahalia Sampson-Ansah, MPH; Fernanda Velasco-Huerta, MPH; Ella R. Garza, MPH, and Maria E. Fernandez, PhD.
“We developed a study that helped clinics have better control of their patient’s hypertension by helping them implement a self-measured blood pressure program,” Dr. Perkison said. “This program teaches patients how to measure their own blood pressure at home and send the readings to their clinic.”
The clinics can incorporate the additional blood pressure readings into the provider’s decision-making process on how to best manage the patient’s blood pressure.
“We successfully implemented this program in seven clinical across Texas, and improvement in initial blood pressure recordings have been seen,” Dr. Perkison said. “This study is critical in identifying additional resources needed to improve blood pressure control in similar populations.”
The SWCOEH provides graduate-level training opportunities for occupational and environmental health professionals through our industrial hygiene, occupational and environmental medicine, occupational epidemiology, and Total Worker Health® programs.
The Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health is part of the UTHealth Houston School of Public Health