# Targeting of UnControlled Hypertension in Emergency Department (TOUCHED)

> **NIH NIH R33** · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO · 2021 · $548,817

## Abstract

Changing care delivery models to address uncontrolled hypertension (HTN) while decreasing the secondary
cardiovascular complications commonly seen in underrepresented populations that use the emergency
department (ED) for primary care are critically needed. Uncontrolled hypertension (HTN) contributes significantly
to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality and is more frequently encountered among patients presenting to the
ED as compared to the primary care setting. EDs serve as the point of entry into the health care system for many
high-risk patient populations, including minority and low-income patients. Based upon recent studies, the
prevalence of uncontrolled/undiagnosed HTN in patients presenting to the ED is alarmingly high. Thus
emergency department engagement and early risk assessment/stratification is a feasible innovation to help close
health disparity gaps in HTN.
This proposal involves a two-arm randomized controlled trial of 686 patients from the Emergency Department at
University of Illinois Hospital with moderately elevated blood pressures (BP ≥ 140/90 mmHg). The primary
outcome will be blood pressure improvement. Secondary outcomes will be blood pressure control, improvement
of cardiovascular risk score, medication adherence, primary care engagement, patient motivation, and HTN
knowledge. The central hypothesis of our proposal is that an ED-based educational and empowerment (E2)
intervention coupled with an ED pharmacist/Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) Post-Acute Care Hypertension
Transition Consultation (PACHT-c) and mobile health remote BP monitoring will educate and empower patients
to improve their BPs and decrease their cardiovascular risk profile as measured by the Framingham Risk Score,
and can be impactful in a predominately underrepresented hypertensive population.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10246237
- **Project number:** 5R33HL139454-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO
- **Principal Investigator:** HEATHER Marie PRENDERGAST
- **Activity code:** R33 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $548,817
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-05 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10246237

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10246237, Targeting of UnControlled Hypertension in Emergency Department (TOUCHED) (5R33HL139454-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10246237. Licensed CC0.

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