A Study to assess the knowledge regarding prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD) among Obese women in selected urban community areas at Mangalore

 

Neethu Varghese¹*, John Shine²

¹Lecturer, Fr. Mullers College of Nursing, Mangalore, Karnataka, India.

²Lecturer, Dept. of Nursing and Midwifery Wollega University, Ethiopia.

 

ABSTRACT:

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in women and primary target for prevention. Obesity is an important biological risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). The main aim of this study was to answer the question regarding knowledge about preventive measures of CVD. A further aim was to replicate previous findings that obese individuals are at higher risk of developing other biological risk factors for CVD. Objectives of the study: To identify the knowledge level of obese women regarding prevention of cardiovascular disease in a selected community at Mangalore. Method: A descriptive study was conducted among 50 obese women who were selected by Purposive sampling technique. The study was conducted in local areas, at Mangalore. Data was collected through baseline information, structured knowledge questionnaire. The data collected was analysed and interpreted based on descriptive and inferential statistics. Result: Majority of the samples belonged in the age group of 40-45 years (40%), most of their BMI were in obese category (64%), nearly half of the subjects completed pre university education (40%), 64% of the subjects were office workers and have not attained menopause, almost half of them had 2 pregnancies (48%) and majority of them did not undergo hormone replacement therapy (80%), family history of CVD and obesity were 72% and 56% respectively, majority of people had personal history of diabetes mellitus (36%). With regard to level of knowledge, among 50 obese women 50% had average knowledge, 34% had good knowledge, 6% had very good knowledge and 10% had poor knowledge about prevention of cardiovascular diseases. There was a significant association for age, type of occupation, number of pregnancies, hormone replacement therapy and personal history of CVD with knowledge of obese women and no association found for BMI, menopause, family history of CVD and obesity. Conclusion: Knowledge level of obese women regarding prevention of cardiovascular diseases is comparatively low. Various multisectoral approaches are required to improve their knowledge which would help to improve their quality of life.

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

Knowledge of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among women continues to be suboptimal despite advances made in the last fifteen years as a result of educational and public awareness efforts.¹ Obesity comprises one of the most important independent CVD risk factors and many large-scale studies have shown a positive relationship between CVD mortality and body mass index (BMI), a widely used measure of human obesity.^2-3 Nutritional changes towards westernized diet, high in sugar and fats, and the sedentary lifestyle have led to increased obesity and CVD prevalence even in the developing countries.^4-5

 

CVD is a serious concern globally and is considered one of the top ten global health problems by the World Health Organization (WHO) particularly in both industrialised and developing countries.⁶ The total blood volume and cardiac output are increased in obesity and cardiac workload is usually greater.⁷ Moderate-to-severe obesity is an important risk factor for heart diseases, directly or indirectly through intervening risk factors, such as hypertension, dyslipidaemia, and diabetes.

 

Improving CVD knowledge remains an important goal, as it is integral to promoting healthy lifestyles and preventing disease.⁸ Obesity is a multifactorial trait, which comprises an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Health promotion and disease prevention should be the essential components of CVD management in developing countries. Unfortunately, in India, the growing incidence of CVD is not yet seen as a public health challenge, and few programs have targeted its prevention.

 

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Objectives of the study:

The objectives of the study are:

·       Identify level of obesity among selected women from community.

·       Assess the knowledge of obese women regarding prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

·       Find the association between mean knowledge of obese women regarding prevention of cardiovascular diseases and selected demographic variables.

 

Variables:

·       Independent variable is prevention of CVD among obese women.

·       Baseline variables are age, BMI, level of education, type of occupation, no. of pregnancies, menopause, hormone replacement therapy, family history of CVD, family history of obesity, personal history of CVD.

 

Hypothesis of the study

The hypothesis will be tested at 0.05 level of significance.

H₁: There will be a significant association between the knowledge score regarding prevention of CVD among obese women and selected demographical variables.

 

Research Approach:

In order to achieve the objectives of the study, a descriptive research approach was found appropriate to determine the knowledge regarding prevention of cardiovascular disease among obese women.

 

Research design:

A descriptive survey design was chosen for the present study to assess the knowledge regarding prevention of cardiovascular disease among obese women.

 

Setting of the study:

The study was conducted in Athavar community of Mangalore, which is in Dakshina Kannada District of Karnataka state.

 

Population:

The population selected for the study is obese women.

 

Sample and sample size:

Sample size of present study includes 50 obese women

 

Sampling criteria:

Inclusion criteria for sampling:

·       Obese women who are willing to participate.

·       Obese women who are available at the time of data collection.

·       Age between 40-60 years obese women are included in the study

 

Exclusion criteria for sampling:

·       Obese women who have other serious medical disorders.

·       Obese women who can’t read and write Kannada or English

 

Sampling technique:

In this study Purposive Sampling technique was adopted.

 

Data collection and analysis:

Samples were selected from the public and health clubs. Prior permission was obtained from the concerned authorities. The data was collected from the samples after obtaining their consent. A structured knowledge questionnaire was administered to assess the knowledge. The data was collected and recorded systematically and was organized as data sheet to facilitate computer entry. Analysis of the data done by using inferential and descriptive statistics.

 

Frequency and percentage distribution of sample according to demographic variables             N=50

Sl. No.	Variables	Frequency	%
1.	Age
	a    40-45	20	40
	b    46-50	15	30
	c    56-60	15	30
2.	BMI
	a    Overweight	18	36
	b    Obese	32	64
3.	Level of education
	a    Primary school	5	10
	b    Secondary school	4	8
	c    High school	11	22
	d    PUC	20	40
	e    Graduation	10	20
4.	Type of education
	a    Home maker	15	30
	b    Office worker	32	64
	c    Coolie worker	3	6
5.	Menopause
	a   Yes	18	36
	b   No	32	64
6.	No. of pregnancies
	a   One	7	14
	b   Two	24	48
	c   More than two	19	38
7.	Hormone replacement therapy
	a   Yes	10	20
	b   No	40	80
8.	Family history of CVD
	a   Yes	36	72
	b   No	14	28
9.	Family history of obesity
	a   Yes	28	56
	b   No	22	44
10.	Personal history of CVD
	a   Hypertension	8	16
	b   DM	18	36
	c   High cholesterol	9	18
	d   Hormonal problems	10	20
	e   Thyroid problems	5	10

 

Description of knowledge of obese women regarding prevention of CVD        N=50

Sl. No.	Level of knowledge	Score	Frequency	%
1.	Very good	20-27	3	6
2.	Good	14-19	17	34
3.	Average	8-13	25	50
4.	Poor	>7	5	10

 

Table shows that highest percentage (50%) of the sample had an average level of knowledge whose score ranged between 8-13, 34% of the sample had good knowledge whose score range between 14-19, 10% of the sample had poor knowledge whose score range below 7 and 6% have very good knowledge.

 

Overall knowledge scores of obese women on prevention of cardiovascular diseases   N=50

Maximum possible score	Mean score	Mean percentage	Standard deviation
27	15.9	59.7	3

 

Table reveals that overall mean knowledge score of women 15.9 (59.7%) regarding prevention of CVD was only with standard deviation of 3.

 

Association between knowledge score and the selected demographic variables                                                N=50

Sl. No.	Variables	≤ Median	> Median	χ2 value	p value
1.	Age
	a     40-45	8	12	3.83	0.14
	b     46-50	11	4
	c     56-60	8	7
2.	BMI
	a     Overweight	9	9	0.18	0.67
	b     Obese	18	14
3.	Type of occupation
	a     Homemaker	9	6	0.74	0.68
	b     Office worker	17	15
	c     Coolie worker	1	2
4.	Menopause
	a     Yes	10	8	0.02	0.86
	b     No	17	15
5.	No. of pregnancy
	a     One	2	5	3.56	0.16
	b     Two	12	12
	c     More than 2	13	6
6.	Hormone replacement
	a     Yes	4	6	0.98	0.32
	b     No	23	17
7.	Family history of CVD
	a     Yes	20	16	0.12	0.72
	b     No	7	7
8.	Family history of obesity
	a     Yes	14	14	0.40	0.52
	b     No	13	9
9.	Personal history of CVD
	a     Hypertension	5	3	1.12	0.89
	b     DM	10	8
	c     High Cholesterol	4	5
	d     Hormonal problems	6	4
	e     Thyroid problems	2	3

 

There was a significant association for age, type of occupation number of pregnancy, hormone replacement and personal history of CVD and no association found for BMI, menopause, family history of CVD and obesity.

 

The findings of the study have implications on the field of nursing education, nursing practice, nursing administration and nursing research.

 

CONCLUSION:

The findings of the study have implications on the field of nursing education, nursing practice, nursing administration and nursing research.

 

NURSING EDUCATION:

The nursing education should focus attention in counselling obese women on preventive measures of CVD. Community approaches to CVD prevention are attractive, since they can target all groups in the community and, if effective, may achieve widespread behavioural change and risk reduction.

 

NURSING PRACTICE:

The nurses play an important role in educating people. The gap between the existing and expected levels of knowledge indicates that there is an urgent need for education regarding prevention of CVD. Nursing personnel working in the community should be equipped with adequate knowledge and skill to educate people regarding cardiovascular disease, risks and prevention.

 

NURSING ADMINISTRATION:

Nursing administrator should implement outreach programmes to make the public aware about influence of mass media on preventive measures of CVD. In service education can be conducted for nurses regarding importance CVD prevention.

 

NURSING RESEARCH:

In nursing there is scarce literature and research done on knowledge on prevention of CVD. Research should be conducted to assess the knowledge level.

 

 

ACKNOWLEDGMENT:

We would like to acknowledge the management of Indira college of Nursing for allowing to complete this project in their institution. We would also like to extent our heartfelt gratitude to our study participants for their cooperation in responding to the questionnaire.

 

REFERENCES:

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5.      Popkin BM. An overview of the nutrition transition and its health implications: the Bellagio meeting. Public Health Nutr 2002; 5: 93-103.

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8.      Ford ES, Capewell S. Coronary heart disease mortality among young adults in the U.S. from 1980 through 2002: concealed levelling of mortality rates. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2007; 50: 2128–32.

 

 

Received on 11.03.2021         Modified on 08.04.2021

Accepted on 29.04.2021      ©A&V Publications All right reserved