Culturally adapted mobile program to help manage high blood pressure in urban and rural Ghana
Official title: AHOMKA: A Culturally-adapted mHealth Platform for Management of Hypertension in an Urban and Rural Region of Ghana
Funded at Tufts University Medford · NIH-11381153 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses a mobile phone app and text messages tailored for Ghana to help adults with high blood pressure communicate with their care team and manage their blood pressure.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Tufts University Medford NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | July 1, 2023 |
| Project end | June 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $50,000 |
| NIH project number | 3R33EB033166-05S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11381153 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults in the participating urban or rural regions of Ghana with a diagnosis of hypertension and regular access to a mobile phone (smartphone or SMS-capable) would be the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without reliable phone access, with immediate life-threatening hypertensive emergencies, or who cannot use the app or read the local message language may not gain benefit from this program.
What this research studies
You would be offered the AHOMKA program, a version of the Empower Health app that has been adapted into local languages and care practices. The program combines a smartphone app and SMS messaging to remind you about medicines, record blood pressure readings, and enable direct messages between you and healthcare providers. Researchers will work with patients, clinicians, and community leaders in both city and rural sites in Ghana to make sure the content and features fit local needs. The team will pilot the platform in selected communities and collect blood pressure and usage information to refine the program for wider use.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help people in Ghana control blood pressure better, improve communication with their health providers, and lower the risk of complications like stroke.
How similar studies have gone: Similar mHealth programs, including prior implementations of Empower Health, have shown promising improvements in medication adherence and blood pressure control in some low- and middle-income settings, though results vary by location and adaptation.
Where this research is happening
-
Tufts University Medford
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Koomson, Valencia Joyner — Tufts University Medford
- Study coordinator: Koomson, Valencia Joyner
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.