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Table 3 The guiding principles for the development of HOME BP

From: Intervention planning for a digital intervention for self-management of hypertension: a theory-, evidence- and person-based approach

Intervention design objectives

Key features

To motivate patients and practice staff to undertake medication titration

• Education for patients and staff about benefits of titration and study procedures (e.g. quizzes to promote knowledge, evidence of need and efficacy)

• Elements to promote patient and staff self-efficacy and autonomy for undertaking titration (e.g. skill building, emphasising health professional oversight)

• Addressing concerns of patients and staff about medication side effects (e.g. encouraging realistic expectations about side effects, providing methods to seek advice on side effects) and of staff about patients’ acceptance of medication titration

To facilitate implementation of medication titration by patients and practice staff

• Carefully designed automation of practice-patient interaction to make implementation of titration procedures as easy and well-controlled as possible

• In-built procedures to manage patient or staff concerns or objections to titration

Easy and low cost to implement the protocol

• Limiting the study co-ordinator role

• Online training

• No passwords for healthcare practitioner log on to ensure easy access to procedures, training and documentation

• Prioritising medication titration as the key behaviour in reducing hypertension

• Providing optional (and flexible) support at the most crucial time points