Conference Abstract | Volume 8, Abstract NACNDC/19JASH034 (Poster B42) | Published: 20 Nov 2025
Juliette Gasana1,&, Gerard Urimubenshi1, Thomas Withers2, David Tumusiime1, Jeanne Kagwiza1, Peter Samuels3, Colin Greaves2
1Department of Physiotherapy, School of Health Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, PO Box 3286, Kigali, Rwanda, 2School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom, 3University of Wolverhampton Business School, Faculty of Arts, Business and Social Sciences, University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, WV1 1AD, United Kingdom
&Corresponding author: Juliette Gasana, Department of Physiotherapy, School of Health Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda, Email: j.gasana@ur.ac.rw; gjuliette00@gmail.com; gasaju03@yahoo.fr ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0003-6237-1616
Received: 30 Aug 2025, Accepted: 20 Oct 2025, Published: 20 Nov 2025
Domain: Non-communicable Disease Epidemiology
Keywords: Digital intervention, lifestyle modification, physical activity, healthy eating, Sub-Saharan Africa
©Juliette Gasana et al. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Juliette Gasana et al. Effects of digital interventions promoting lifestyle changes on blood pressure for people with hypertension in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2025;8(ConfProc6):034. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO6-00034
Lifestyle changes are key to managing hypertension and reducing cardiovascular risk. Digital technologies offer promising support for these changes and improve health outcomes. This review assessed the effectiveness of digital interventions promoting lifestyle changes on blood pressure (BP) for adults with hypertension in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
We conducted a systematic literature search for relevant studies published between 1/7/2003 and 30/12/2023. Studies included were randomised controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the effect of digital interventions promoting lifestyle modification to reduce BP in SSA countries. Our behaviour targets were lifestyle modification (physical activity and healthy diet) and medication adherence.
This review included two RCTs, involving a total of 1490 participants aged 18-70 years with baseline systolic blood pressure (SBP) ranging from 130 mmHg to 146 mmHg. The studies evaluated tele-pharmacy and SMS-based interventions for hypertension management, with follow-up periods of 6 to 12 months. The risk of bias assessment revealed low risk across all domains in the first (Bobrow et al., 2016) trial. This demonstrated modest improvements in medication adherence and small reductions in SBP (Mean between-group difference -2.2 mmHg. 95% CI: -4.4 to -0.04) for the information-only weekly texting intervention, compared with usual care. The second (Mozu et al., 2023) trial exhibited high risk of bias in multiple domains. This study did not report between group comparisons for SBP, only a within-group reduction of 13.3 mmHg (9.2 to 17.4) in the intervention group from baseline to six months. Significant improvements in lifestyle behaviours, including medication adherence, salt intake and weekly exercise, were also reported across studies.
Digital health tools like SMS, tele-pharmacy, apps, and websites show promise for improving BP control in SSA. More rigorous trials are essential to evaluate the effectiveness, scalability, and cost-effectiveness in promoting sustainable lifestyle changes for hypertension management in diverse SSA populations.
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