An interventional study of Health Education and Individual-Level Peer Support in Prehypertension, Hypertension and Blood Pressure, sponsored by University of Alabama at Birmingham. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 19 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-05.
Sponsored by University of Alabama at Birmingham · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention
The goal of this study is to test an intervention to prevent high blood pressure among rural, Black adults living in Alabama. Black adults in this region have one of the highest rates of high blood pressure in the US. Eating fruits and vegetables and exercising daily lowers the chance of getting high blood pressure. Many problems get in the way of eating a healthy diet and exercising like a lack of grocery stores with fresh foods, few gyms, little money, lack of transportation, and limited support for keeping healthy habits. One place where many Black adults in rural Alabama meet weekly and feel supported is their church. The investigators will connect with 30 churches in rural Alabama. The investigators plan to hold health fairs to find 12 Black adults from each church with blood pressure that is higher than normal but not high enough to need blood pressure lowering medications. The investigators will randomly select 15 churches to get group health education and tablets to access online cooking shows and exercise classes. Adults in the other 15 churches will get support from a health coach over the telephone to help set and meet diet and physical activity goals as well as the group health education and tablets to access online cooking shows and exercise classes. In this study, the investigators will ask church members to sign up to be a health coach. These 15 churches will also get money to help bring healthy foods and/or physical activity opportunities to their communities. The investigative team will train 2 to 3 of their church members to learn how to coach others to eat more healthy food and be more physically active. This study answers two questions. 1) Will this intervention designed to reduce barriers to a healthy lifestyle lower blood pressure among rural, Black adults? 2) Can churches and participants complete the whole two-year study, and can the intervention be used in other communities in a cost-effective way to improve blood pressure? This project will add to the health equity mission of the American Heart Association by finding out if an intervention using health coaches lowers blood pressure among rural Black adults.
158 studies on the registry are indexed under Prehypertension; 21 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 416 is above the median of 66 across 138 interventional studies indexed under Prehypertension.
Browse Prehypertension studies →University of Alabama at Birmingham is the lead sponsor of 1,421 studies on the registry; 277 are open to participants now.
Of its 164 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 130 (79%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Participants will have access to online health education materials and will also be matched with a community health worker who will offer support through peer coaching
Behavioral: Health Education · Behavioral: Individual-Level Peer Support · Behavioral: Community-Level Peer Support
Participants will have access to online health education materials but will not receive individualized peer support
Behavioral: Health Education · Behavioral: Community-Level Peer Support
All participants will receive education regardless of randomization status. On the day of enrollment, participants will be invited to attend education modules focused on HTN risk, diet, physical activity, stress management, and goal setting. Participants will also have access to culturally relevant, weekly online sessions, alternating between cooking shows and exercise
Participants will receive bi-weekly peer support calls for 6 months, followed by monthly calls for another 6 months.
Church Leadership in churches randomized to intervention will identify 2-3 Peer Health Advocates from the church who will receive training on ways to promote a culture of health, encouraging church members to attend on-line cooking shows and exercise sessions. After training, these individuals will also work with Church Leadership to form a committee that will develop a project (e.g., community food pantry, farmer's market, Zumba instruction, small church gym) aimed at overcoming structural barriers to healthy behaviors. Each church will receive a small stipend for their project. Churches randomized to education alone will receive the community-level intervention after 12 months of participation in the study (delayed intervention)
Incident Blood Pressure
Change in systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure
Time frame: Baseline, 6 months,12 months, 18 months
Fruit/Vegetable/Fiber Intake
Change in consumption of fruits, vegetables, and fiber rich foods
Time frame: Baseline, 6 months,12 months, 18 months
Physical Activity
Change in days per week participant participates in moderate and/or vigorous physical activity
Time frame: Baseline, 6 months,12 months, 18 months
Alcohol use
Change in consumption of alcoholic beverages
Time frame: Baseline, 6 months,12 months, 18 months
Smoking
Change in frequency in use of tobacco problems
Time frame: Baseline, 6 months,12 months, 18 months
Plan to share: No — No plan to share IPD with other researchers
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Ran from Aug 2022 to primary completion in Feb 2026, 42 months.
Of 56 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Prehypertension, half reached primary completion within 20 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 13 and three quarters within 37. This study's 42 months is above that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 60 studies reached it within 20 months; a quarter within 11 and three quarters within 37.
Completion moved once since we started tracking on Sep 25, 2026: Sep 2026 → Aug 2026, on Oct 5, 2026.
Earlier changes are on the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is completed, as verified in Sep 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.
University of Alabama at Birmingham →