The Knowledge About Cardiovascular Risk

ORIGINAL RESEARCH / ORİJİNAL ARAŞTIRMA
2014
The Knowledge About Cardiovascular Risk Factors Among Students in a
Faculty of Health Sciences
Sağlık Bilimleri Fakültesi Öğrencilerinde Kardiyovasküler Risk Faktörleri Bilgi
Düzeyleri
AUTHORS /
YAZARLAR
Eylem Pasli
Gurdogan
Department of Nursing,
Trakya University
Faculty of Health
Sciences, Edirne, Turkey
Seda Kurt
Department of Nursing,
Trakya University
Faculty of Health
Sciences, Edirne, Turkey
Serap Unsar
Department of Nursing,
Trakya University
Faculty of Health
Sciences, Edirne, Turkey
ABSTRACT
Aim: Cardiovascular diseases are among the most common reasons for mortalities and morbidities
worldwide, and mortalities related to cardiovascular diseases have become more common in the younger
population in recent years. This study was planned to determine the knowledge levels and affecting
factors about cardiovascular risk factors among students in a faculty of health sciences.
Methods: The study was performed between April-May 2013 with the participation of 665 students
studying in the Nursing, Nutrition and Dietetics, and Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation departments of the
Health sciences Faculty of a university. Data were collected by using the knowledge levels on risk factors
related to cardiovascular diseases scale developed by Arıkan et al.
Results: The average age of the students was 20.76±1.76, 81.8% were female, 31.7% studied in their
1st year, and 53.1% studied in the nursing department. 31.9% of the students stated that they had
knowledge on cardiac risk factors. The average score of the students was 17.86±2.83. The knowledge
level of students in their senior years, who had a history of cardiac disease in their families on
cardiovascular disease risk factors was found to be higher in a statistically significant manner (p<0.005).
Conclusion: In our study, the knowledge levels of the students on cardiovascular disease risk factors
are above average. Giving more emphasis in the faculty of health sciences curriculum to the topic of
cardiac risk factors and protection methods would increase awareness on the subject. Future members of
health care teams educating the public on cardiac risk factors would provide a significant improvement in
primary health care services.
Keywords: students, cardiac risk factors, health knowledge
ÖZET
Amaç: Kardiyovasküler hastalıklar dünya çapında ölüm ve hastalıkların en sık nedenleri arasında
yer almakta, son yıllarda kardiyovasküler hastalıklar ile ilişkili ölümler genç nüfusta artış göstermektedir.
Bu çalışma Sağlık Bilimleri Fakültesi öğrencilerinin kardiyovasküler risk faktörleri bilgi düzeyleri ve
etkileyen faktörleri belirlemek amacıyla planlanmıştır.
Yöntemler: Çalışma Nisan-Mayıs 2013 tarihleri arasında bir üniversitenin Sağlık Bilimleri Fakültesi
Hemşirelik, Beslenme ve Diyetetik, Fizyoterapi ve Rehabilitasyon bölümlerinde öğrenim gören 665
öğrenci ile gerçekleştirildi. Veriler Arıkan ve arkadaşları tarafından geliştirilen Kardiyovasküler
hastalıklar ile ilgili risk faktörleri bilgi düzeyi ölçeği kullanılarak toplandı. Verilerin değerlendirilmesinde
SPSS 16.0 paket programı kullanıldı.
Bulgular: Öğrencilerin yaş ortalaması 20,76±1,76, %81,8'i kadın, %31,7'si 1. sınıf ve %53,1'i
hemşirelik bölümü öğrencisidir. Öğrencilerin %31,9'u kardiyak risk faktörleri konusunda bilgi sahibi
olduğunu ifade etti. Öğrencilerin ölçek puan ortalamaları 17,86±2,83'tü. Dördüncü sınıfta öğrenim gören
ve ailesinde kardiyak hastalık öyküsü bulunan öğrencilerin kardiyovasküler hastalık risk faktörleri bilgi
düzeyleri istatistiksel olarak anlamlı düzeyde daha yüksek bulundu (p<0,005).
Sonuç: Çalışmamızda öğrencilerin kardiyovasküler hastalıklar risk faktörleri bilgi düzeyleri
ortalamanın üzerindedir. Sağlık bilimleri fakültesi müfredat programlarında kardiyak risk faktörleri ve
korunma yöntemlerine daha fazla yer verilmesi, bu konudaki farkındalık düzeyini arttıracaktır. Geleceğin
sağlık ekibi üyelerinin, toplumu kardiyak risk faktörleri konusunda bilinçlendirilmesi primer sağlık
hizmetlerine önemli katkı sağlayacaktır.
Anahtar kelimeler: öğrenciler, kardiyak risk faktörleri, sağlık bilgisi
Corresponding Author / İletişim için
Assist. Prof. Eylem Pasli Gurdogan, PhD
Trakya University Faculty of Health Sciences Department of Nursing, 22030, Edirne, Turkey
E-mail: [email protected]
Date of submission: 25.09.2013 / Date of acceptance: 31.10.2013
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Pasli Gurdogan E et al. The Knowledge About Cardiovascular Risk Factors Among Students in a Faculty of Health Sciences
Introduction
Since the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases
increases every day and such diseases have become
the most common cause of death in the world,
protection from such diseases has become a primary
goal for health care services (1). In the beginning of
the twenty first century, cardiovascular diseases are
responsible for nearly half of the deaths in developed
countries and 25% in developing countries. It is
projected that, by the year 2020, such diseases will
cause 25 million deaths every year, and be the
primary cause of death in the world (2). According to
the Cardiac Diseases and Risk Factors in Turkish
Adults Report, cardiovascular diseases are the most
common cause of death in our country for both men
and women (3).
Protection from cardiovascular diseases is a
topical, ever increasing and urgent health care
necessity (4). In the Prospective Urban Rural
Epidemiology study performed by the Turkish
Metabolic Syndrome Association, with the effects of
social factors on lifestyle and cardiovascular risk
factors, and the incidence of these neither chronic nor
contagious disease groups are found increasing in our
country (1,5). While a decrease in the prevalence of
such diseases is observed in developed countries,
where primary and secondary precautions to the risk
factors of coronary artery disease are applied with
diligence, the average prevalence of such diseases is
reported to increase for both genders in our country,
and it is reported that the changes in the lifestyle of
Turkish people have an important effect in this
increase (4,6).
It is important to determine cardiovascular risk
factors, using of primary protection measures for high
risk individuals, and using of secondary prevention
measures in individuals that are already sick (4,6).
Lifestyle changes play an important role in primary
and secondary prevention from cardiovascular
diseases. Quitting smoking, regular physical activity,
having a balanced body weight, and a regular diet are
main goals in protection from cardiovascular diseases
(7).
Nurses, dieticians and physiotherapists, who are
all a part of the health care team, have important
responsibilities in preventing of cardiovascular or
80 other chronic diseases, delaying the development of
such diseases in high risk individuals, and reducing
possible complications. Creating public awareness on
such diseases, educating healthy and ill individuals,
promoting healthy lifestyle habits, and helping with
compliance to treatments in case of the disease
presenting are among the main responsibilities of the
health care team members (4,8).
For the health care team members to fulfill those
responsibilities, they have to be educated and aware
about cardiovascular and other chronic diseases
starting from their college years. In the light of these
facts, this study was planned to determine the
knowledge levels of nursing, nutrition and dietetics,
and physiotherapy and rehabilitation students, on
cardiovascular risk factors and affecting factors.
Methods
The study was conducted between April-May
2013 with the participation of 665 students studying
in the Nursing, Nutrition and Dietetics, and
Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation departments of the
health sciences faculty of a university who
volunteered for the study. Data were collected by
using a 10 item questionnaire developed by the
researchers including socio-demographic
characteristics, stories of cardiac diseases in the
family or the student related to cardiovascular risk
factors, smoking status, exercise status, and body
mass index (BMI), together with the knowledge level
on risk factors related to cardiovascular diseases
(CARRF-KL) scale.
The CARRF-KL scale was developed and tested
for validity and reliability by Arıkan et al. The scale
consists of 28 items. While the first four items of the
scale regard the properties of cardiovascular diseases,
the likelihood of protection, and the age factor, 15
items question the risk factors (items 5, 6, 9, 11, 12,
14, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28), and nine items
question the results of changes in risk behavior (items
7, 8, 13, 15, 16, 17, 21, 22, 26).The items in the scale
were presented to the participants in a true-false
questionnaire composed of full sentences. The
participants were asked to answer "Yes", "No", or "I
don't know". Every "correct answer" corresponded to
1 point, and every "wrong answer" or "I don't know"
Euras J Fam Med 2014; 3(2):79-84
statement corresponded to 0 points. The highest
possible score in the scale was 28, and items
11-12-16-17-24-26 were scored so that affirmative
answers gave 0 points while negatory answers gave 1
point (reverse coding). The total scores were
calculated by giving 1 point to the rest of the
affirmative answers. A higher score means a better
level of knowledge. Arıkan et al found the Cronbach
alpha value of the scale to be 0.76 (9). In this study
the Cronbach alpha value was found to be 0.70.
Data were evaluated with the SPSS 16.0 program
using percentages, average values, student’s t-tests,
and one way analysis of variance (ANOVA). In order
to compare significance of differences between
groups, the Bonferroni multiple comparison test was
used.
Results
The mean age of the students participating in the
study was 20.76±1.76 (min: 18, max: 32). Among the
participants, 81.8% were female, 31.7% were
freshmen and 53.1 % were studying in the department
of nursing. It was determined that 91.6% of the
students do not smoke, 56.4% do not exercise
regularly and 74.3 % have a normal weight according
to BMI, 31.9% of the students have a family history
of cardiac disease and 58.9% reported that they knew
the risk factors associated with cardiovascular
diseases (Table 1).
There were significant differences according to
the grade that the students are studying (p=0.003),
having a history of cardiac disease (p=0.013),
Table 1. Descriptive Characteristics and Comparison of the CARRF-KL Mean Scores (n=665)
Features
Gender
Female
Male
Grade
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Department
Nursing
Nutrition and Dietetics
Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation
Smoking Status
Smoking
Not smoking
Exercise status
Exercises
Does not exercise
BMI
Thin
Normal weight
Slightly overweight
Family history of chronic disease
Present
None
History of chronic disease
Present
None
Knowing cardiac risk factors
Yes
No
Partially
n (%)
CARRF-KL
Mean ± SD
p
544 (81.8)
121 (18.2)
17.79 ± 2.92
18.14 ± 2.39
0.23*
211
178
176
100
(31.7)
(26.8)
(26.5)
(15.0)
17.32 ± 2.47
17.87 ± 3.12
18.14 ± 2.76
18.47 ± 2.98
353 (53.1)
178 (26.8)
134 (20.2)
17.64 ± 3.33
18.21 ± 1.85
17.95 ± .41
56 (8.4)
609 (91.6)
17.64 ± 2.88
17.88 ± 2.83
0.55*
290 (43.6)
375 (56.4)
17.80 ± 2.95
17.90 ± 2.75
0.671*
90 (13.5)
494 (74.3)
81 (12.2)
18.04 ± 3.07
17.92 ± 2.77
17.25 ± 2.90
212 (31.9)
453 (68.1)
18.25 ± 2.50
17.67 ± 2.96
59 (8.9)
606 (91.1)
18.52 ± 1.89
17.79 ± 2.90
392 (58.9)
44 (6.6)
229 (34.4)
18.32 ± 2.61
15.795 ± 3.55
17.46 ± 2.83
0.003**
0.079**
0.118**
0.013*
0.06*
<0.001**
* Student’s t-test, ** One-Way ANOVA
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Pasli Gurdogan E et al. The Knowledge About Cardiovascular Risk Factors Among Students in a Faculty of Health Sciences
knowing the cardiovascular risk factors (p<0.001),
and the mean CARRF-KL scores. According to this
study, the CARRF-KL scores of the 4th grade
students were higher than the other grades and scores
of the students with a history of cardiac disease in the
family were higher than the students who do not have
a family history of cardiac disease. Scores of the
students who know the cardiac risk factors were also
higher than those who does not know the risks. In this
study, a significant difference was not found in mean
CARRF-KL scores according to gender, department,
smoking status, exercising, BMI, and presence of
chronic diseases among the students (Table 1).
The mean CARRF-KL score of the students was
found to be 17.86±2.83 (Table 2). CARRF-KL total
scores range was between 4 and 22.
Discussion
The mean CARRF-KL score of the students was
found to be 17.86 ± 2.83. Arikan et al. reported in
their study which recruited medical staff that the
mean score obtained from the scale was 19.3±3.2.
Tan et al. carried out with rural women that the mean
score obtained from the scale was 13.05±6.93 (9, 10).
Hacıalioğlu at al. (11) carried out with collage
students, the knowledge of cardiac risk factors was at
medium level. In another study carried out with high
school students, it was determined that 55.6% had a
medium level of knowledge regarding cardiac risk
factors (12). It can be stated that those studying in
health-related areas have a high level of knowledge
of cardiovascular risk factors.
This study showed that the CARRF-KL scale
scores increases while the students’ grade increases
too. This study releaved that CARRF-KL scale scores
of fourth grade students were higher than other
students. In a study evaluating the level of knowledge
of cardiovascular risk factors which was carried out
with collage students, the senior students had higher
levels of knowledge than the first grade students (11).
This shows the importance of education in enhancing
the level of knowledge of cardiovascular risk factors.
In our study, the CARRF-KL scale scores of the
students who had a family history of cardiac disease
were significantly higher than the students who did
not have a family history of cardiac disease. Tan et al.
stated in a study that was conducted with women that
CARRF-KL scale scores of the women who had a
history of cardiac disease in the family were higher
(10). Similarly, in another study including medical
staff, it is found that people who had a family history
of cardiac disease had higher CARRF-KL scale
scores (9). Having a history of cardiac disease
increases the level of knowledge of risks for other
members of the family.
In our study, CARRF-KL scale scores of the
students with a chronic disease were higher than
those without a chronic disease, but the difference
was not statistically significant. In a study conducted
on patients with heart disease, patients identified very
low levels of cardiovascular risk factors (13). It is
expected that the interest in and awareness of people
regarding chronic diseases should increase.
In this study, CARRF-KL scale scores of the
students who knew about cardiovascular risk factors
were found to be higher than those who did not know
and those who knew partially. In a study carried out
with medical students, it was stated that 41.7 % of the
students in the early years of education have
knowledge about the risk factors of cardiovascular
diseases and also stated that this score is declined to
13.6% in the last year of education (14). This can be
explained with the education of the students who
study health sciences and therefore having a high
level of knowledge about this subject.
Clinical nutrition and healthy eating habits play
an important role on primary and secondary
prevention of cardiovascular disease (15).
Responsibilities and duties of dietitians are becoming
more and more important each day on the treatment
and prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Although
there was no significant difference between the
Table 2. Distribution of CARRF-KL Mean Scores
Scale
CARRF-KL
82 Possible maximum and Maximum and minimum
minimum scores
scores in our study
0-28
4-22
Mean ± SD
Cronbach’s
Alpha
17.86 ±2 .83
0.70
Euras J Fam Med 2014; 3(2):79-84
department of the students which they study and their
CARRF-KL scores, the CARRF-KL scale scores of
nutrition and dietetics department students were
higher. This situation can be explained by the training
about nutrition and exercise of Nutrition and Dietetics
students that they have taken during their education.
In many industrialized countries, total calorie
intake continues to increase while physical activity
decreases and this causes the obesity epidemic.
Obesity increases cardiovascular risk alone due to the
structural changes that obesity cause on the heart. The
trends that cause obesity are increasing while
noticeable improvements happen on other risky
behaviors and risk factors such as smoking (2, 16). In
our study, 74.3% of the students had a normal weight.
Although there was a significant difference, the
students in the thin group had higher scores on the
scale of CARRF-KL. In a study, it was expressed that
there was no difference between the scores of the
CARRF-KL and body mass index (10).
Most of the known risk factors for cardiovascular
disease can be arranged with the primary prevention
before the disease occurs. Preventing approaches
such as nonsmoking and in case of smoking, quitting
are among the aims of cardiovascular protection (17).
In this study, no significant difference was found
between smoking status and CARRF-KL scale
scores. In a study, women who smoked had higher
scores on the scale of CARRF-KL (10). 91.6% of the
students who participated in the study were not
smoking. In the study carried out by Hacıalioğlu et.
al. (11) 79.3% of the students were not smoking.
Non-smoking is important for reducing the
cardiovascular risk factors. In the last few years,
policy on the restriction of smoking places in our
country can be considered to be effective on reducing
tobacco use.
Conclusion
In our study, the knowledge level of students
about cardiovascular risk factors was found to be
above the average. This study showed that the grade
in which the students trained, the presence of cardiac
disease in the family, and the status of knowing
cardiovascular risk factors increases the level of
knowledge in a positive way.
Cardiovascular disease is a disease group with
high mortality and morbidity. Prevention from these
diseases may be possible by fighting against the risk
factors. Physicians, nurses, dietitians, physical
therapists, who are members of the medical care
team, play an important role on achieving and
developing healthy life style habits such as healthy
nutrition, quitting smoking and exercise behaviors
within the society. Training programs to increase the
level of awareness of cardiac risk factors can be
recommended to medical care professionals working
in primary health care.
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