In:
Circulation, Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health), Vol. 141, No. Suppl_1 ( 2020-03-03)
Abstract:
Background: India is going through a major economic and epidemiological transition. With the adoption of a Western lifestyle, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD) has emerged as the leading cause of death. India is currently the second most populous country with a population of 1.3 billion and two-thirds of this population are less than 35 years of age. As a result, India is facing major challenges in dealing with CVD. Purpose: This study was conducted to assess the level of health awareness of CVD in school-aged children (10 to 16 years) and to evaluate the effect of a brief educational intervention in enhancing the level of awareness with a goal of developing a school-based health education program. Methods: A school-based survey was conducted in Calcutta, India in August, 2018. This involved a pre-evaluation of CVD health awareness, a short presentation on CVD, and a post-evaluation of CVD health awareness. Results: The survey involved 2,564 students from 18 schools (11 girls’, 5 boys’, 2 coeducation). The mean age of participating students was 14.6 years, 72% were girls, 55% of the students were in the 9th grade, 38% were from 10 th grade, and the rest were from a combination of 8 th ,11 th, and 12 th grades. After assessing students’ awareness in six domains with 20 multiple-choice questions, the mean pre-test score was 46.5 (SD ± 13.3) with a maximum score of 100, and the mean post-test score was 53.6 (SD ± 20.6) ( p 〈 0.001). Conclusions: Awareness of CVD and its risk factors was inadequate among school-aged children in Calcutta. A school-based educational program may promote awareness of CVD and adoption of healthy lifestyle practices. The results of this study may help formulate a nationwide school health program to ameliorate the morbidity and mortality of CVD in India where it has emerged as a modern epidemic.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0009-7322
,
1524-4539
DOI:
10.1161/circ.141.suppl_1.P108
Language:
English
Publisher:
Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Publication Date:
2020
detail.hit.zdb_id:
1466401-X
