Mission:
High blood pressure (hypertension) is extremely common. Uncontrolled blood pressure puts people at increased risk of developing heart disease, brain disease, and kidney disease. Yet only 1 in 4 people have their blood pressure under good control (blood pressure under 130/80 mmHg). Blood pressure control is worse in populations who traditionally face inequities, including the African American and Latinx communities.
Blood pressure control could be improved if we change the way we deliver care. There are increasing calls for home blood pressure monitoring (in addition to office measurements), and remote (virtual) blood pressure teams with nurses and pharmacists to support primary care providers in achieving blood pressure control. There is also more attention to how social determinants of health impact individuals’ ability to participate in their healthcare journey and gain maximal benefit from therapy. Community health workers can be the needed glue, helping patients access services and reinforcing plans of care.
The Pressure Check study is designed to address health inequities in hypertension (high blood pressure), providing much needed evidence about how best to control high blood pressure in our communities. This evidence will support policies and infrastructure for how we deliver care. The study is taking place in 4 cities, wherein a partnered health system in each city (Yale New Haven Health, Sentara Health, Houston Methodist, and Massachusetts General/Brigham) is collaborating with 10 community partners to screen for high blood pressure. Our community partners include churches, barbershops, community centers, and other businesses/organizations that have been historically minded around health and wellbeing.
Yale New Haven Health (YNHHS) is one of four health systems in the United States participating in this research study to screen for high blood pressure (hypertension) and provide care connections, through the YNHHS Heart and Vascular Center, for people with uncontrolled blood pressure. In each of the four cities where the study is being conducted, health systems are working with entities that support community health, such as local churches, barbershops, community centers.
Meet the Yale University Team
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Dr. Erica Spatz (Co-Principal Investigator)
Dr. Spatz is the Director of the Yale Medicine Preventive Cardiovascular Health Program and Associate Director of Yale Medicine Population Health. She also is an Associate Professor of Cardiology and Associate Professor of Epidemiology (Chronic Diseases) at Yale School of Public Health. Her clinical and research interests include the development of individualized approaches to preventing and managing cardiovascular disease, along with tools to help patients become more active in their healthcare decisions.
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Dr. Rafael Pérez Escamilla (Co-Principal Investigator)
Dr. Perez- Escamilla is a Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences). He also serves as the Director of the Office of Public Health Practice; Director of Maternal and Child Health Promotion (MCHP) Program; and Director of YSPH Global Health Concentration. He has co-led innovative mixed-methods implementation studies assessing the impact of community health worker person centered interventions on breastfeeding, type-2 diabetes, post-partum hypertension and mental health outcomes among in vulnerable communities.
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Natasha Ray (Community Principal Investigator)
Natasha Ray, Director, New Haven Healthy Start (The COMMUNITY Foundation for Greater New Haven) is a longtime collaborator with Yale researchers. She is a co-chair of the Center for Research Engagement at Equity Research and Innovation Center. She is also a Community PI on another PCORI award for which Dr Rafael Perez Escamilla is also a dual PI. Ms Ray is expert in the New Haven community, in developing and running community Boards, and in community-academic research partnerships. She serves a similar role of Community PI on the PCORI EMPOWER grant, creating efficiencies related to understanding the work, meeting with PIs, and developing materials to support the community advisory boards.
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Katherine Tucker (Community Outreach and Engagement Director)
Katherine Tucker (DNP, RN, APRN-BC, NE-BC) is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse, she is a Clinical Program Director in the YNHH Heart and Vascular Center and is a Board Member of the National Black Nurses Association. Katherine is an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing at Southern Connecticut State University and has a focuses on mitigating factors that lead to poor health outcomes, health and healthcare disparities. She has studied transitional care and is deeply involved in community health.
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Dr. Daniel Sarpong
Dr. Daniel F. Sarpong, trained biostatistician, is a Senior Research Scientist in the Department of General Internal Medicine and Executive Director of the Office of Health Equity Research (OHER). Dr. Sarpong’s research focuses on translational research exploring innovative approaches to mitigating biological and social determinants of health disparities in primarily chronic diseases.
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Bonnie Garmisa (Study Director)
Bonnie Garmisa (MAT) Prior to joining the study team, Ms. Garmisa was on staff at the YNHH Center for Outcomes and Evaluation (CORE), where she managed Dr. James Freeman's R01 grant, Safety and Effectiveness of Left Atrial Appendage Closure in Atrial Fibrillation (SAFELY-AF) and administered the analytic center contract with the American College of Cardiology (ACC) National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR).
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Jocelyn Dorney (Project Coordinator)
Jocelyn (MPH) earned her undergraduate degree from Yale University in the History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health. She received her masters degree in public health from Yale School of Public Health in 2021. She has worked on clinical studies with Dr. Spatz including INSPIRE (The Innovative Support for patients with SARS-CoV-2 infections Registry) and Cuffless BP, a study designed to clinically test a newly developed cuffless blood pressure monitoring device.
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Sherry Aiudi (Data Manager)
Sherry Aiudi (MS, MBA) is a Data Manager with the Yale Center for Analytical Sciences in the Yale University School of Public Health. Sherry’s experience has largely centered on research in the departments of Cardiology and Internal Medicine, with emphasis on congenital cardiac diseases, environmental risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and blood pressure control.
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Maria Cantito (RN Coordinator)
Maria Cantito (BSN, RN, CV-BC) is RN coordinator for Yale's Cardiovascular Prevention program. She helped pilot this project in local churches, pharmacies, and barbershops. She believes in human connection, engagement and education as a means to empower persons to manage their health.
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Dr. Brita Roy
Dr. Brita Roy (MD, MPH, MHS) is a Clinical Associate Professor at New York University Grossman School of Medicine. She is also Director of Community Health and Clinical Outcomes—Beyond Bridges, a transformative initiative to improve population health and well-being among a diverse immigrant community in Brooklyn, NY, through community-clinical partnerships. She co-leads the Collective WELL Research Team, and previously co-led the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s (IHI) 100 Million Healthier Lives measurement team and served as lead faculty for the IHI Pathways to Population Health Action Community.
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Dr. Heather Lipkind
Dr. Heather Lipkind (MD, MS) is the Director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Weill Cornell. Dr. Lipkind has clinical experience and research expertise in perinatal epidemiology and birth outcomes. Her research examines associations between hypertension and psychiatric conditions and pregnancy outcomes as well as research with diverse pregnant populations. She has created programs that help patients understand the association of pregnancy-related health conditions with long-term health outcomes with a focus on hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and cardiovascular disease.
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Dr. Shriya Rajashekar (Research Assistant)
Dr. Shriya Rajashekar (MBBS, MPH) is a trained physician and current Master of Public Health student at Yale School of Public Health. With a research focus on Cardiovascular Epidemiology and Global Health.
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Siham Busera (Communications Intern)
Siham Busera is a junior at Yale College. She is currently pursuing a degree in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. She assists by maintaining Pressure Check social media accounts and coordinating communications to key stakeholders.