Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The University of Pittsburgh received a $1,019,556 Project Grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) under the Cardiovascular Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.837), awarded July 13, 2026, for development and implementation of "The Hypertension Toolkit: An Adaptive Mobile Health Blood Pressure Intervention." The primary deliverable is a theory-informed chronic disease self-management intervention targeting blood pressure control in resource-limited primary care settings. Core products include: (1) a validated Hypertension Virtual Coach mobile application that delivers personalized education, non-pharmacologic guidance, and self-efficacy support; (2) home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) protocols and supporting workbooks for clinical trial participants; and (3) augmented intervention tactics—a text-based digital health program for modest augmentation and a text-plus-pharmacist co-management option for vigorous augmentation—designed to address treatment non-response among trial participants.

The award funds execution of a randomized clinical trial (N=378) employing a Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial (SMART) design across community-based and federally qualified health centers through June 30, 2027. Deliverables include study coordination with partner clinics, Community Engagement Collaborative guidance on toolkit design, virtual agent refinement, trial launch, and primary outcome assessment of the virtual agent's six-month effect on systolic blood pressure control. Secondary deliverables measure the comparative effectiveness of modest versus vigorous augmentation tactics for non-responders re-randomized at 2- or 4-month intervals.