NURS FPX 9020 Assessment 4 Literature Synthesis: Draft Student Name Capella University NURS-FPX9020 Professor Name Submission Date Literature Synthesis: Draft One of these health disparities is hypertension, which is reported as having low levels of control among all the groups in the Caribbean and is responsible for the high morbidity and rates of cardiovascular diseases in each of the groups identified. Culturally-specific interventions with patient education and lifestyle change have proved to have better blood pressure outcomes and a higher likelihood of engaging patients among minority populations (Miezah & Hayman, 2024; Singh et al., 2023). The model presented by nurses who deliver care via competency-based training does have a chance to offer a pathway through which evidence-based interventions may be deployed; however, a massive gap in practice will be the lack of a regular use of culturally-specific lifestyle interventions when conducting routine hypertension care of the Caribbean women (Bulto et al., 2024; Bisbey et al., 2021). The project question will be the following: PICOT question: P – Among nurses who give direct care to women of Caribbean descent with hypertension in the primary care clinic (P), how the implementation of a culturally-centered lifestyle change program (I), in comparison to the current practice (C), affect the level of blood pressure control (O) after 12 weeks (T)? The project hypothesizes that a culturally-based structured lifestyle change will result in better blood pressure and cultural competence of the nursing personnel and eventually will decrease the health disparity of the identified group of women who are at high risk of developing health issues. Literature Search Strategy A gap that is evident in the literature is that although there is a great deal of evidence on the effectiveness of nurse-led, culturally-oriented lifestyle interventions to treat hypertension, most primary care settings are still using the traditional hypertension education that does not cover culturally specific eating, beliefs, or social determinants in Caribbean women. Additionally, Bulto (2024) provided evidence that culturally specific nursing interventions were significantly more effective in relation to the management of hypertension and lifestyle adherence; however, the interventions mentioned were not carried out in a routine clinical practice; it should be replaced by a structured program that will include cultural competence in the management process of hypertension. Some of the major search words included: hypertension, blood pressure control, Caribbean women, culturally sensitive interventions, lifestyle modifications and dietary education and education in nursing. These search terms were then combined using Boolean operators (AND, OR) to make the search comprehensive and targeted covering the following: hypertension, blood pressure control, Caribbean women, culturally tailored interventions, lifestyle modifications and nursing education. In addition, the MeSH terms used were: culturally competent care, hypertension, lifestyle and health education. The filters were also applied to filter by date of publication, language, peer-reviewed journals, and human subjects. Peer-reviewed journals, human subjects and studies published after 2022-2026 and in English were only included. Electronic databases PubMed/MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) Complete and PsycInfo were searched. Hand searching of reference lists of related systematic reviews and practice guidelines was also performed. The initial searches resulted in more than 1,200 articles being found. The inclusion criteria of the studies included adult populations of the Caribbean or minorities, nurse-based interventions, and resulted in quantifiable outcomes of blood pressure, which were culturally oriented towards changing the lifestyle. The exclusion criteria were the studies that were related to children, the ones that were not published in English and the ones that did not have any results concerning hypertension. After title, abstract, and full-text screening, 27 articles remained which were systematic reviews, clinical practice guidelines, randomized controlled trials and narrative reviews. The criteria used to select the sources of the retained articles were relevance to the design of the intervention, outcome measurement and use of culturally specific management of hypertension. Analysis of Evidence The purpose of the evidence matrix is to create a framework that will be used to compare the evidence of the articles included in the research review, culturally sensitive lifestyle interventions led by nurses, designed to better management of hypertension among Caribbean women. Studies used in the synthesis were used to determine the methodological quality and clinical applicability using the strength of recommendation taxonomy (SORT) framework. The available, most recent systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials suggest that nurse-led, culturally-based lifestyle interventions have a strong methodological and clinical rigor and are highlighted as a key intervention for improving systolic and diastolic blood pressure management among Caribbean women. The grading system also impacts patient-centered outcomes and the evidence-based clinical decision-making process and takes hypertension care to be culturally responsive to patients. The findings of the review of the 20 studies were very good to support the use of culturally based interventions that are led by the nurse when managing blood pressure and lifestyle behavioral change. Out of 20 studies included, eight studies were rated to have high methodological quality (Level A) and these studies were randomized controlled trial or systematic reviews (based on the SORT framework). There were 9 studies with methodology considered moderate (Level B) that used quasi-experimental design, cohort studies, and comparative effectiveness studies, which had some limitations. All three of the latest studies were rated as Level C, and included a narrative review, practice guidelines, or quality improvement projects (Bulto, 2024; Ocran, 2024; Brewer, 2023). The effect sizes of the interventions were variable; however, there was evidence that the interventions as a whole led to a reduction in systolic blood pressure of 4.5-7.6 mmHg and had a positive impact on adherence to dietary, physical activity, and stress management guidelines (Bulto, 2024; Ocran, 2024; Brewer, 2023). Activities focused on the use of technology-enhanced interventions (e.g., mHealth application and telehealth counselling services) helped to enhance cultural acceptability of interventions and patient engagement. Potential gap areas can be recommended as: the best timing of intervention, applicability to the clinic setting, and incorporation of social factors like food insecurity and community support. Organization of Literature According to the Main Themes Systematic evidence synthesis