Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Department

Nursing

Committee Chair

Lenora Smith

Committee Member

Timothy Shelton

Subject(s)

Hypertension--Treatment, Patient compliance, Smartphones, Mobile apps

Abstract

Hypertension is a widespread issue often linked to non-adherence. Over 50% of U.S. patients do not follow their BP medication prescriptions. This problem exists across the U.S., including Georgia and at the L&D Medical Center clinic in Powder Springs. The clinic has 796 patients, of which 396 have hypertension. Hypertension diagnoses are increasing annually, as evidenced by the clinic having 267 patients with HTN the previous year. The principal aim of this intervention was to improve adherence and lower blood pressure using the MyTherapy app. The app was downloaded onto participants’ smartphones and used to alert patients when it was time to take blood pressure medications daily and to record blood pressure readings. Demographics, systolic BP, diastolic BP, and adherence scores were collected over 12 weeks. The Hill and Bone Adherence questionnaire was administered at the beginning and end of the 12-week period to evaluate adherence. The results showed improvement in systolic and diastolic blood pressure; however, not all participants reached the target of 130 mmHg systolic and 80 mmHg diastolic. All participants successfully scored below 30 on the Hill and Bone Adherence questionnaire, indicating that the MyTherapy app met its goal of enhancing adherence to blood pressure medications. The results demonstrated a significant clinical improvement in BP measurements, along with notably better compliance scores over 12 weeks. The use of the MyTherapy app proved effective across all populations, regardless of age, culture, educational level, or gender.

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