PMID: 11901884Mar 21, 2002Paper

Knowledge and perception of cardiovascular risk factors in Africa South of the Sahara

Archives des maladies du coeur et des vaisseaux
P ZabsonréG Tognoni

Abstract

The objectives of our study were to evaluate the perception and the knowledge of cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) by the population and their management by health care workers (HCW) in Burkina Faso. The survey targeted specific socio-professional groups representative of Burkina Faso. The survey team administrated a questionnaire and measured some constants. The sampling method was empiric selection by quotas. The sample was composed of 2,000 subjects: 1,073 men, 927 women, 1,800 represents of the general population and 200 HCW. Of 1,800 non health workers, 1,475 had ever heard about hypertension. The representation of hypertension as "a disease" decreased with instruction level while its reprentation "a risk factor" increased with instruction level (p < 0.001). The main sources of information on CVRF were talks with parents and friends, radio broadcasting and discussion with HCW. One hundred and forty of 200 HCW defined hypertension as an elevation of blood pressure, mainly systolic (130 cases) according to WHO criteria. Hypertension was classified after alcohol, tobacco smoking, obesity as the fourth CVRF. One hundred and seventy seven of 302 cases of hypertension were previously unknown: 97 of the 125 old cases were treate...Continue Reading

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