A Teaching Kitchen Medical Groups Visit with an eHealth Platform for Hypertension and Cardiac Risk Factors: A Qualitative Feasibility Study

Introduction: Our Whole Lives-Hypertension (OWL-H) is an eHealth toolkit for hypertension and cardiac risks factors. It is a hybrid online self-management platform that teaches blood pressure (BP) self-monitoring and evidence-based lifestyle modifications combined with in-person teaching kitchen medical group visit. Qualitative feedback from participants regarding the facilitators and barriers of using OWL-H has been discussed in this article. Methods: The OWL-H platform was pilot tested in a pre-post trial with two cohorts of participants with hypertension (N = 24). The online intervention utilized OWL-H for teaching mindfulness meditation, the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension nutrition plan, and evidence-based strategies for lifestyle modifications. Three in-person teaching kitchen medical group visits were held to demonstrate cooking skills to reinforce the online platform. Semi-structured focus group discussions (FGDs) were held after the intervention. Results: Fourteen of the 24 participants in the trial participated in the FGDs, and 1 participant provided feedback in a solo interview. Major themes that emerged included: (1) participants' request to tailor OWL-H's recipes and meal planning to suit their own dietary needs or preferences, to personalize the Home Practices (e.g., meditation) according to individual preferences (e.g., addition of nature sounds or guided visual imagery); (2) the strengths and weaknesses of OWL-H as a BP self-monitoring tool; (3) the need for community support in managing BP; and (4) participants noted lack of time, work and commute, Internet connectivity, stress, and sickness as obstacles in using OWL-H. Participants described feeling outpaced by the growth of technology and raised concerns of poor Internet connectivity hampering their use of OWL-H. Conclusion: OWL-H and the accompanying teaching kitchen medical group visit are potential tools to help reduce hypertension and cardiac risk factors. The intervention was found to have acceptability among people with lower income. Clinical Trials Registration#: NCT03974334.