Community-based management of arterial hypertension and cardiovascular risk factors by lay village health workers for people with controlled and uncontrolled blood pressure in rural Lesotho: Joint protocol for two cluster-randomized trials within the ComBaCaL cohort study (ComBaCaL aHT Twic 1 & ComBaCaL aHT TwiC 2)

Abstract

Background Arterial hypertension (aHT) is a major cause for premature morbidity and mortality. Control rates remain poor, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Task-shifting to lay village health workers (VHWs) and the use of digital clinical decision support systems may help to overcome the current aHT care cascade gaps. However, evidence on the effectiveness of comprehensive VHW-led aHT care models, in which VHWs provide antihypertensive drug treatment and manage cardiovascular risk factors is scarce. Methods Using the trials within cohort (TwiCs) design, we are assessing the effectiveness of VHW-led aHT and cardiovascular risk management in two 1:1 cluster-randomized trials nested within the Community Based Chronic Disease Care Lesotho (ComBaCaL) cohort study (NCT05596773). The ComBaCaL cohort study is maintained by trained VHWs and includes the consenting inhabitants of 103 randomly selected villages in rural Lesotho. After community-based aHT screening, adult, non-pregnant ComBaCaL cohort participants with uncontrolled aHT (blood pressure (BP) ≥140/90 mmHg) are enrolled in the aHT TwiC 1 and those with controlled aHT (BP <140/90 mmHg) in the aHT TwiC 2. In intervention villages, VHWs offer lifestyle counselling, basic guideline-directed antihypertensive, lipid-lowering, and antiplatelet treatment supported by a tablet-based decision support application to eligible participants. In control clusters, participants are referred to a health facility for therapeutic management. The primary endpoint for both TwiCs is the proportion of participants with controlled BP levels (<140/90 mmHg) 12 months after enrolment. We hypothesize that the intervention is superior with regard to BP control rates in participants with uncontrolled BP (aHT TwiC 1) and non-inferior in participants with controlled BP at baseline (aHT TwiC 2). Discussion The TwiCs were launched on September 08, 2023. On December 11, 2023, 371 and 673 participants were enrolled in TwiC 1 and TwiC 2. To our knowledge, these TwiCs are the first trials to assess task-shifting of aHT care to VHWs at community level, including the prescription of basic antihypertensive, lipid-lowering, and antiplatelet medication in Africa. The ComBaCaL cohort and nested TwiCs are operating within the routine VHW program and countries with similar community health worker programs may benefit from the findings. Trial registration The trial is registered on clinicaltrials.gov (NCT05684055; January 04, 2023).