Effect of pharmaceutical care programme on blood pressure and quality of life in a Nigerian pharmacy

Objective: The study aimed at evaluating the effect of pharmaceutical care programme on blood pressure and quality of life of patients who visit a Nigerian community pharmacy. Method: A non-randomised, single-site, crossover design was used. Patients served as their own control. They underwent 5 months of usual care and another 5 months of pharmaceutical care. Main outcome measure: Blood pressure and quality of life measured before implementation of pharmaceutical care and at the end served as main outcome measures. Other end-points assessed at baseline and at the end of investigation included smoking cessation, adherence to therapy, exercise, salt restriction, alcohol moderation and self blood pressure measurement. Results: Twenty four (24) patients out of the 40 recruited completed the study. Mean reductions were significant after pharmaceutical care intervention for systolic BP (14.3 ± 14.4 mmHg) and diastolic BP (10.8 ± 10.7 mmHg). There was a significant mean increase in number of patients that adhered to salt restriction (-36%), aerobic exercise (-46%), self BP measurement (-46%), alcohol moderation (-33%) and drug adherence (-16.7%). There was a positive increase of -11.4 and -3.2 for physical health and social health domain of quality of life evaluation respectively. Conclusion: Pharmaceutical care programme could produce a beneficial effect on hypertensive patients. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.