Protocol reproducibility for users with arterial hypertension attended in Basic Health Care Units

Abstract Protocols have been adopted as a strategy to improve the rates of follow-up and control of arterial hypertension (AH). The scope of this study was to verify the reproducibility of a protocol for consultation and follow-up of the user with AH in Basic Health Care (BHC) units. It involved a methodological study, carried out from January to August of 2016, with 160 users with AH. The reproducibility occurred in the dimension of indicators of health, psychosocial, signs of changes in blood pressure values, occurrence of complications and test performance. The protocol was applied by nurses at two different times, with interval according to the participant’s return visit. The concordance was evaluated by the Kappa (κ) and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) coefficients according to the type of variable. The κ intra-examiner ranged from 0.673 to 0.984 and inter-examiners from 0.515 to 0.985. The ICC intra-examiner scored from 0.785 to 0.998 and inter-examiner from 0.845 to 0.999. The mean of the anthropometric measures and the pressures presented a difference < 1 between the examiners at times 1 and 2. The protocol presented good reproducibility and high reliability, being able to be replicated and used in the follow up consultation of the user with AH attended in BHC units.