AFRICAN AMERICAN ADULTS WITH HYPERTENSION - MANAGING LONG COVID AND ACCESSING HEALTHCARE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by Marglet

Hypertension (HTN) is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke, and Long COVID has broadened the clinical and chronic-care challenges faced by Black and African American adults. This systematic review examines how African American adults exposed to COVID-19 managed HTN and accessed healthcare since the pandemic began. PRISMA 2020 guided synthesis of 23 peer-reviewed English studies (2020–2025) from Web of Science, MEDLINE, and CINAHL, identifying persistent barriers including insurance gaps, transportation problems, and poor continuity of care. SDOH drivers—such as employment, housing insecurity, Medicaid/uninsured status, education, and ethnicity—contributed to health inequities, while telehealth use rose yet internet access, digital literacy, and mistrust remained limiting. The review also links long-COVID diagnosis to further inequities among those managing CVD.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages1

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Methods (PRISMA 2020)

Study Selection and Data Sources

Results: Barriers to Care and SDOH Drivers

Telehealth Access and Digital Inequities

Implications for Health Inequities

Innovation in Aging, 2025, Vol. 9, No. S2 1047 geographical location, language, and sociodemographic characteristics (age, sex, gender) . Abstract citation ID: igaf122.3526 AFRICAN AMERICAN ADULTS WITH HYPERTENSION MANAGING LONG COVID AND ACCESSING HEALTHCARE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW Raymond Akorlatse, Rae Walker, Raeann LeBlanc, and Michael Lepore, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, United States Hypertension (HTN) is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke, contributing notably to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in the United States and globally. The emergence of Long COVID (LC) has expanded the scope of managing hypertension as a cardiovascular and chronic disease in Black and African American adults. This study describes how African American adults exposed to COVID-19 have managed HTN and healthcare access since the pandemic’s onset. We applied the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines to synthesize existing knowledge. Research articles from 2020-2025 were identified across the Web of Science (Core Collection), MEDLINE (Ovid), and CINAHL databases. English language peer-reviewed studies that reported Social determinants of health (SDOH) factors, COVID-19, HTN, CVD, and healthcare access among Black and African American adults were included. Twenty-three articles were selected. Results revealed common barriers to healthcare, including lack of insurance, transportation challenges, and poor continuity of care. Existing research identified SDOH factors such as employment, redlining, housing insecurity, Medicaid/uninsured, low-income status, low education, rent moratorium, and ethnicity as drivers of health inequities. Though telehealth access and use increased significantly during the pandemic, Black and African American adults continued to face health care access barriers such as lack of access to high-speed internet or broadband, variable levels of digital literacy, and mistrust. Diagnosis of long COVID is a predictor for further health inequities among Black and African American persons managing a CVD diagnosis,

FAQs

What question does the systematic review address?

It examines how African American adults exposed to COVID-19 have managed hypertension and accessed healthcare since the pandemic’s onset.

How were studies identified and selected?

The review used PRISMA 2020 guidelines and included English peer-reviewed research from 2020–2025 found in Web of Science, MEDLINE, and CINAHL.

What barriers to healthcare access were most commonly reported?

Common barriers included lack of insurance, transportation challenges, and poor continuity of care.

How did telehealth change during the pandemic, and what limitations remained?

Telehealth access and use increased, but Black and African American adults still faced barriers such as limited high-speed internet, varying digital literacy, and mistrust.

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by Marglet