Stress management in the workplace for employees with hypertension: a randomized controlled trial
- Resource Type
- Authors
- William Gerin; Jonathan A. Shaffer; Lynn Clemow; Joseph E. Schwartz; Karina W. Davidson; Redford B. Williams; Thomas G. Pickering; Virginia P. Williams
- Source
- Translational Behavioral Medicine. 8:761-770
- Subject
- Adult
Male
medicine.medical_specialty
Stress management
Blood Pressure
030204 cardiovascular system & hematology
law.invention
Occupational Stress
03 medical and health sciences
Behavioral Neuroscience
0302 clinical medicine
Randomized controlled trial
law
Intervention (counseling)
Adaptation, Psychological
Outcome Assessment, Health Care
Health care
medicine
Humans
030212 general & internal medicine
Workplace
Emotional exhaustion
Applied Psychology
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
business.industry
Original Articles
Middle Aged
Clinical trial
Blood pressure
Hypertension
Rumination
Physical therapy
Female
medicine.symptom
business
Follow-Up Studies
- Language
- ISSN
- 1613-9860
1869-6716
While behavioral interventions can improve blood pressure (BP) in individuals with hypertension, getting such services to people who could benefit remains difficult. Workplace programs have potential as dissemination vehicles. The objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of a standardized stress management program delivered in groups at the workplace for reducing BP compared with enhanced usual care. This randomized controlled trial studied 92 urban medical center employees with hypertension randomized into two groups. The intervention was a 10-week group workshop on cognitive-behavioral coping skills. Enhanced usual care included self-help materials for BP reduction and physician referral. Intervention group participants’ systolic BP (SBP) decreased 7.5 mm Hg over controls between baseline and follow-up, from 149.1 (95% CI: 146.0–152.1) to 140.0 (95% CI: 134.7–145.2), p < .001. The differential change between intervention and enhanced usual care groups (Group × Time interaction) was 7.5 mm Hg (t = −2.05; p = .04). Diastolic BP reductions were not significantly different. Scores on measures of emotional exhaustion and depressive rumination showed significant improvements and correlated with reductions in SBP. There was no significant change in the usual care group. A standardized worksite group intervention produced clinically meaningful reductions in SBP in participants with hypertension.