Understanding Patient Perspectives of Postural hypotension (UPPP)
- 1 April 2024 to 31 May 2025
- Project No: 705
- Funding round: FR 9
PI Title: Cini Bhanu
Lead member: UCL
"Postural hypotension is a condition which involves a drop in blood pressure rising from a sitting or lying position to standing upright. It is common in older people and can cause dizziness on, which can lead to falls. It has also been linked with several other conditions such as strokes, heart attacks and dementia. Our research has found that it is not generally picked up by healthcare professionals in primary care. This is because it tends not to be automatically screened for, or
patients fail to recognise or report symptoms like dizziness.
In order to improve how we pick up postural hypotension in general practice, it is important to understand what older people currently understand about the condition. Are older people aware of postural hypotension? Would they recognise its symptoms, and if so, would they tell their GP? Are they aware of what the risks of postural hypotension are? And how would they feel about it being checked for in primary care?
We aim to answer these questions in this study by interviewing over-65s from GP surgeries across London and Devon. The one-to-one interviews will last up to 60 minutes and be offered either face-to-face, remotely or on the telephone. Since postural hypotension can affect older people from underserved populations to a greater degree (e.g. those living in socially deprived areas), we will ensure that we interview people from these specific groups.
The results could help raise awareness of postural hypotension amongst older people. It could also guide future work to encourage patients to report symptoms and perhaps develop screening for it. By identifying more cases of postural hypotension, we may be able to reduce the negative knock-on effects of the condition.
Whilst this condition has largely been overlooked in general practice, there has been lots of research to improve our understanding of postural hypotension in recent years. This project will bring together a strong team of experts to continue progress in this area and ensure that any future changes in general practice are underpinned by the patients’ perspective."
Award Amount: £91,802