A 4-year community-based cardiovascular disease prevention program achieved 37.4% awareness but only 2%-3% participation, with no significant community-wide effects on self-reported health behaviors.
Observational
No
Does a community-based cardiovascular disease prevention program improve self-reported health behaviors in adults living in a low-income, inner-city neighborhood?
A 4-year community-based cardiovascular prevention program in a low-income neighborhood achieved moderate awareness but low participation, resulting in minimal community-wide impact on self-reported health behaviors.
OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the impact of a 4-year, community-based cardiovascular disease prevention program among adults aged 18 to 65 years living in St-Henri, a low-income, innercity neighborhood in Montreal, Quebec. METHODS: Awareness of and participation in the program were monitored in 3 independent sample telephone surveys. Self-reported behaviors were compared in St-Henri and a nearby comparison community before and after program implementation in both a 3-year repeat independent sample survey and a 5-year longitudinal cohort telephone survey. RESULTS: Awareness of the program reached 37.4%, but participation was low (2%-3%). There were no secular declines in smoking or high-fat diet; physical inactivity increased in both communities. There were no statistically significant program effects detected in the independent sample surveys, although physical inactivity increased more in the comparison community than in St-Henri. In the longitudinal cohort sample, there was a small, statistically significant increase favoring St-Henri in frequency of cholesterol checkups. CONCLUSIONS: Despite careful adaptation of the program to the local social context, there were few community-wide program effects. However, several component interventions showed promise in terms of community penetration and impact.
O’Loughlin et al. (Wed,) conducted a observational in Cardiovascular disease prevention. Community-based cardiovascular disease prevention program vs. Nearby comparison community was evaluated on Self-reported behaviors (smoking, high-fat diet, physical inactivity). A 4-year community-based cardiovascular disease prevention program achieved 37.4% awareness but only 2%-3% participation, with no significant community-wide effects on self-reported health behaviors.