DOI: 10.3390/pharmacy14080158 ISSN: 2226-4787

A Review of Hypertension Intervention Through Pharmacist and Community Health Worker Collaboration

Rita Chellilina Ezenibe, Creaque C. Tyler, Justina Nwokem, Katelyn Nash, Jawaun Willoughby, Taylor Harber, Wenting Liu, Ivy O. Poon

Hypertension remains a major cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality among older adults, yet achieving adequate blood pressure control remains a significant challenge. Pharmacists and community health workers (CHWs) may provide complementary clinical and community-based support for medication management and hypertension self-management. This review aimed to characterize pharmacist-led and CHW-supported interventions relevant to hypertension and blood pressure outcomes. EMBASE, CINAHL, OVID, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and grey literature were searched for peer-reviewed studies published from 2015 to 2026. Twenty-two (22) were included, comprising fourteen (14) original primary studies and eight (8) study protocols. Across the included studies, pharmacists provided medication therapy management, medication optimization, clinical monitoring, and support for home blood pressure monitoring, while CHWs provided health education, self-management support, healthcare navigation, and connections to community resources. Collaborative models demonstrated improvements in selected blood pressure, medication-related, and self-management outcomes; however, intervention components and outcomes varied considerably. Few studies specifically focused on older adults, highlighting an important evidence gap. Pharmacist-CHW collaborative interventions varied in design and outcomes, and did not consistently result in improved clinical outcomes. These findings highlight the need for further research to determine the added benefits of CHW support in pharmacist-led hypertension management, particularly among older adults.

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