Health Technology/clinical-trials

Completed Pilot Trial: Gamification and Social Incentives to Drive Blood Pressure Self-Monitoring in CKD, Hypertension, and Diabetes — Key Findings for Clinicians

247 Health News Editorial

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27 July 2026

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4 min read

·clinical-trials

The completed SMART-HABITS-4-Health pilot trial (NCT05565716) tested whether gamification, social incentives, and automated text-message prompts could improve home blood pressure monitoring adherence in patients with CKD, hypertension, and diabetes. Conducted at the University of Pennsylvania with 73 participants, the trial's feasibility findings are anticipated to inform the design of a future powered efficacy study. Clinicians managing this high-risk triad should watch for published outcomes in 2025–2026.

Originally reported by ClinicalTrials.gov

References

  1. 1.University of Pennsylvania. (2022). Supporting self-management of healthy behaviors among people with diabetes, kidney disease, and hypertension (SMART-HABITS-4-Health): A pilot trial of a blood pressure monitoring intervention leveraging social incentives and gamification [Clinical trial registration NCT05565716]. ClinicalTrials.gov. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05565716
  2. 2.Drawz, P. E., & Rahman, M. (2015). Chronic kidney disease. Annals of Internal Medicine, 162(11), ITC1–ITC16. https://doi.org/10.7326/AITC201501060
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  4. 4.Eldridge, S. M., Lancaster, G. A., Campbell, M. J., Thabane, L., Hopewell, S., Coleman, C. L., & Bond, C. M. (2016). Defining feasibility and pilot studies in preparation for randomised controlled trials: Development of a conceptual framework. PLOS ONE, 11(3), e0150205. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0150205
  5. 5.Kidney Health Australia. (2023). Chronic kidney disease (CKD) management in primary care (4th edition). https://kidney.org.au/health-professionals/ckd-management-in-primary-care
  6. 6.Whelton, P. K., Carey, R. M., Aronow, W. S., Casey, D. E., Collins, K. J., Dennison Himmelfarb, C., DePalma, S. M., Gidding, S., Jamerson, K. A., Jones, D. W., MacLaughlin, E. J., Muntner, P., Ovbiagele, B., Smith, S. C., Spencer, C. C., Stafford, R. S., Taler, S. J., Thomas, R. J., Williams, K. A., … Wright, J. T. (2018). 2017 ACC/AHA/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/AGS/APhA/ASH/ASPC/NMA/PCNA guideline for the prevention, detection, evaluation, and management of high blood pressure in adults. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 71(19), e127–e248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2017.11.006
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247 Health News Editorial

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