Feasibility and Uptake of a Blood Pressure Monitoring Kiosk in a Medical College Hostel: A Pilot Study

BackgroundSelf-monitoring of blood pressure (BP) may provide an opportunity to promote cardiovascular health awareness among students.However, evidence regarding the implementation and utilisation of BP monitoring kiosks in hostel settings is limited.Hence, this pilot study aimed to evaluate the short-term operational practicality, initial uptake versus one-month utilization patterns, and measurement completeness of hostel-based BP monitoring kiosks, alongside an exploratory comparison of recorded BP profiles between boys' and girls' hostels. MethodsA pilot observational study was conducted at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Deoghar, Jharkhand, India, using BP monitoring kiosks installed in the boys' and girls' hostels.An automatic BP monitor, OMRON HEM-7120 (Omron Healthcare, Vietnam), was used for the study.The kiosk setting was composed of a chair, a table, the BP monitor and its power adapter, a register and pen, and an instruction banner (on the wall).Residents were informed about the availability of the kiosk facility via WhatsApp.After one month of unsupervised recording, data were analysed descriptively to assess date-wise utilisation, measurement frequency, and completeness of readings.The mean systolic BP, diastolic BP, and pulse rate were compared between the two hostel settings. ResultsBoth kiosks were installed in the respective hostel settings and used for BP monitoring during the subsequent one-month study period, without any reported technical or operational difficulties.A total of 94 measurement sessions were recorded, comprising 70 (74.47%) in the boys' hostel and 24 (25.53%) in the girls' hostel.Of the total hostel residents, 69 (first-time measurement) of 241 male residents (28.63%) and 22 (first-time measurement) of 217 female residents (10.14%) measured their BP.The highest utilisation occurred on the installation day, accounting for 44 sessions (46.81%), followed by a substantial decline in daily use.Three BP measurements were recorded in 75 sessions (79.79%).All 24 records from the girls' hostel contained three measurements, compared with 51 of 70 records from the boys' hostel (72.86%). ConclusionHostel-based BP monitoring kiosks were successfully deployed in both hostel settings, demonstrating preliminary operational practicality in a low-resource environment.However, the sharp decline in utilization after installation and differences in completeness emphasize that short-term technical practicality does not equate to sustained engagement.Prospective studies using formal feasibility criteria, usability metrics, and engagement strategies are required to evaluate long-term sustainability.