The Effectiveness of Comprehensive Health Education Programming to Decrease Cardiovascular Health Disparities: The Case of HeartSmarts

Naa-Solo Tettey

Global Journal of Health Science, 2019, vol. 11, issue 3, 68

Abstract: INTRODUCTION- Chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, affect African Americans at disproportionately higher rates due in part to low health literacy and a lack of comprehensive health education programs. PURPOSE- The purpose of this research is to demonstrate the effectiveness of HeartSmarts, a culturally tailored, comprehensive cardiovascular health education program, in improving cardiovascular health literacy. METHODS- Peer health educators were trained to deliver an extensive curriculum focused on cardiovascular disease and its risk factors. Upon completion, they delivered this curriculum in their churches and communities. Pre- and post-assessments were administered for blood pressure, weight, waist circumference, and knowledge of cardiovascular disease. RESULTS- Fourteen predominantly African American churches in New York City participated, and 199 participants completed the program. Participants experienced decreases in blood pressure and weight, improved their health-related behaviors, and significantly increased their knowledge of cardiovascular health. CONCLUSION- The HeartSmarts program demonstrates the effectiveness of using a comprehensive health education approach to help combat these issues. Programs that use strategies similar to HeartSmarts should be implemented for other health conditions to decrease health disparities.

Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/gjhs/article/download/0/0/38540/39203 (application/pdf)
http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/gjhs/article/view/0/38540 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ibn:gjhsjl:v:11:y:2019:i:3:p:68

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Global Journal of Health Science from Canadian Center of Science and Education Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Canadian Center of Science and Education ().