Acceptance and expectations of information technology to support hypertension self-care in African Americans: a qualitative inquiry.

The aim of this study was to explore African American patients' experiences managing their hypertension and to investigate their perspective on how technology might be used to improve hypertension self-management. We conducted and analyzed four focus groups with 32 African American participants diagnosed with hypertension to develop a culturally tailored content for a home-based telecare program aimed at improving hypertension care in African Americans. The discussion about the use of technology was well accepted, demonstrated culturally and gender specific barriers in hypertension care, and generated a comprehensive list of concepts and features to be included to a home-based computerized hypertension telemanagement system.