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March 7, 2026PLoS ONEOpen Access

Gender-informed toolkit linked to a ~14% increase in IHD symptom knowledge.

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Why the study?

Tailored health messaging can improve symptom recognition of ischemic heart disease and reduce barriers to care, but a gender-informed and culturally-sensitive toolkit needed development, implementation, and evaluation in an ethnically diverse community.

Does a gender-informed and culturally-sensitive toolkit improve knowledge of symptom recognition and care seeking for ischemic heart disease in an ethnically-diverse population?

Population

Approximately 240 people in an ethnically-diverse population attending community information sessions

Comparison

A co-created gender-informed and culturally-sensitive toolkit vs pre-test baseline

Design

Mixed-methods implementation and evaluation study using the RE-AIM framework

Key result

A co-created gender-informed toolkit increased IHD symptom knowledge from 53.4–74.4% pre-test to 67.6–85.4% post-test among 240 participants.

Authors

BHBryn HummelDSDinah L. van SchalkwijkNZNina Zipfel

Discussion

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Overview

Supports gender-informed toolkits for IHD education in diverse populations; extends evidence but leaves long-term retention open.

Key Points

  • To develop and evaluate a toolkit aimed at improving symptom recognition and care seeking for ischemic heart disease in a diverse community.
  • Toolkit co-created with patients, community leaders, and healthcare professionals.
  • Pilot implementation through information sessions in four community settings.
  • Mixed-methods design utilizing the RE-AIM framework for evaluation.
  • Approximately 240 attendees at information sessions, with 69% being women.
  • Knowledge about IHD symptoms increased from 53.4–74.4% pre-test to 67.6–85.4% post-test.
  • Positive reception from attendees and community leaders, though challenges in implementation were noted.

Structured PICO

Does a gender-informed and culturally-sensitive toolkit improve knowledge of symptom recognition and care seeking for ischemic heart disease in an ethnically-diverse population?

P
Population
Approximately 240 people in an ethnically-diverse population attending information sessions in four community-based settings, mean age 63, 69% women.
I
Intervention
A co-created gender-informed and culturally-sensitive toolkit for health messaging, implemented through information sessions.
C
Comparator
Pre-intervention knowledge levels (pre-test).
O
Outcome
Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) of the toolkit, including knowledge gain on symptom recognition and care seeking.patient reported

A co-created, culturally-sensitive toolkit successfully improved short-term knowledge of ischemic heart disease symptoms in a diverse community setting, though long-term maintenance remains challenging.

Limitations

  • Need for further evaluation of (cost)effectiveness to study long-term impact
  • Lack of experience in organizing community events by potential maintenance organizations
  • Need for integration of the intervention in current infrastructure

Cite This Study

Hummel et al. (2026) studied this question. A co-created gender-informed toolkit increased IHD symptom knowledge from 53.4–74.4% pre-test to 67.6–85.4% post-test among 240 participants.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69abc1845af8044f7a4ea482https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0344093
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Also Consider

Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context:

  1. 1User evaluation of an implementation toolkit for maternal–newborn care settings2025
  2. 2TRANSLATION, CROSS-CULTURAL ADAPTATION, AND DEVELOPING MALAY QUESTIONNAIRES TO MEASURE HEALTH EMPOWERMENT FOR PATIENTS WITH ISCHAEMIC HEART DISEASE (IHD): A VALIDATION STUDY2023 · 1 citations
  3. 3Development of a counseling intervention protocol to improve treatment adherence of ischemic heart disease patients2022
  4. 4Development of a guided internet-based psychological intervention for patients with ischemic heart disease and comorbid anxiety and/or depression: A patient and public involvement study2025 · 1 citations
  5. 5Stakeholder perceptions of the acceptability of an intervention to improve uptake of evidence-based emergency myocardial infarction care in Tanzania: A qualitative study2026