Abstract

Hypertension is the leading cause of cardiovascular disease, which is an ever-growing issue that continues to plague the United States. This issue is amplified in rural, medically underserved areas, in which patients often face several obstacles preventing them from obtaining proper care and management plans to treat their hypertension. Our SMART aim was to identify two barriers that are prevalent in the rural community of Caruthers, CA, that are preventing hypertensive patients from accessing care and adequately managing their blood pressure. We designed and implemented a survey written at a 5th grade reading level to determine the barriers to hypertension management. We surveyed 42 patients, of which 20 had controlled blood pressure and 22 patients with uncontrolled hypertension, and determined a primary barrier was medication compliance. This project informs future clinical care by demonstrating possible barriers and solutions that could be employed to improve health outcomes for those with hypertension and other chronic conditions within other rural, medically underserved communities.