New or worsening high blood pressure in pregnancy can develop into a disease called preeclampsia. If left untreated, preeclampsia may turn into eclampsia. Eclampsia occurs when a pregnant person has a seizure or a stroke, which can lead to lifelong health problems, or even death. In 2018, 14% of pregnant people who gave birth in North Carolina experienced high blood pressure. Rural, low-income, and women of color are at greatest risk for complications of high blood pressure in pregnancy and postpartum. These same individuals also face challenges in accessing care. To improve maternal health outcomes for these patients, the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Safety (AIM) developed the Severe Hypertension During Pregnancy and Postpartum Period Safety Bundle (HTN bundle) which includes five areas of focus: (1) Readiness of clinics to change practices (2) Recognition of high blood pressure (3) Response to patients with high blood pressure during pregnancy or postpartum; 4) Reporting/Systems Learning to track data related to clinic changes and (5) Respectful Care to ensure equity and respect in care of patients. Initially released in 2015, The HTN bundle has been used by hospitals to improve recognition and treatment of high blood pressure in birthing people. The ACHIEVE (Advancing Community and Clinical Care for Childbirth-related Hypertension through Implementation, Engagement, and Valuing Equity) Initiative was developed to support outpatient clinics in providing more effective care to pregnant individuals with high blood pressure. Adapting this bundle for community clinics providing pregnancy care has the potential to reach more birthing people outside the hospital setting who are most vulnerable to complications.
In the initial phase of ACHIEVE, the study team partnered with three rural Piedmont Health Services (PHS) clinics that serve mostly White and Latinx patients. The inpatient HTN bundle was adapted to fit their setting and re-named the Outpatient Hypertension (O-HTN) bundle. Additionally, a coalition was established to engage patients, clinic providers/staff, and the broader community to: (a) understand factors influencing maternal health including economic stability, education, health care access, and community context, (b) assess what makes it easier or harder to implement the O-HTN bundle in community outpatient clinic settings, (c) adapt the O-HTN bundle to fit those settings and populations, and (d) select and tailor changes to clinic practices using continuous cycles of learning, measuring and adapting to be the most effective and sustainable for the organization. Building on this formative work, the goal of the clinical trial is to determine the impact of four implementation strategies (training, coaching, facilitation, educational materials) in up to 20 outpatient clinics in central North Carolina. Usual clinic care for severe hypertension will be compared to the care provided after a practice has 12 months of implementation support from the ACHIEVE Nurse Coordinator. ACHIEVE partners include healthcare leadership, clinic providers and staff, community-based organizations, and individuals with lived experience who will work together on this project. If the project succeeds in improving care, the ACHIEVE model will be shared across the state and nationally to support healthier birthing people and communities.
