RESEARCH ARTICLE
Effect of Knowledge About Cardiovascular Diseases on Healthy Lifestyle Behavior Among Freshmen of Zagazig University: An Intervention Study
Naglaa M. Abdo1, *, Eman M. Mortada1, 2, Omnia S. El Seifi1
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2019Volume: 12
First Page: 300
Last Page: 308
Publisher ID: TOPHJ-12-300
DOI: 10.2174/1874944501912010300
Article History:
Received Date: 27/02/2019Revision Received Date: 13/05/2019
Acceptance Date: 15/06/2019
Electronic publication date: 30/06/2019
Collection year: 2019
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Background:
Educating the younger population about cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and promoting their healthy lifestyle behavior are essential preventive approaches.
Objective:
To assess the knowledge about CVDs and healthy lifestyle behavior among freshmen college students, before and after the application of an educational program.
Methods:
A pre-test/post-test 6-month interventional educational study was conducted on first-year, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University students. Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Knowledge Level (CARRF-KL) and Healthy Lifestyle Behavior (HLSBS-II) scales were completed by the students before and after the intervention. The intervention included lectures, group discussions, and the participants’ preparation of action plans to change unhealthy lifestyle behaviors.
Results:
In the pre-intervention phase, 58.3% of the participants had “adequate” knowledge about CVDs and their mean total HLSBS-II score was 98.35 ± 6.50. Following the intervention, 99.2% of the participants acquired “adequate” knowledge about CVDs, with significant improvement in all aspects of the CARRF-KL score, p < 0.001. The “health responsibility” and “nutritional habits” subscale scores of the HLSBS-II improved significantly, p < 0.01. Participants with CVDs and/or positive family history had significantly higher total mean CARRF-KL scores than those without personal or family history of CVDs, p < 0.05. The total CARRF-KL showed a significant positive correlation with “health responsibility” and “nutritional habits” HLSBS-II subscales (p < 0.05).
Conclusion:
The applied educational program effectively improved the participants’ knowledge about CVDs and empowered them to improve their health responsibility and nutritional habits. Health education and promotion programs should be implemented and integrated within the curriculum of university students.