Abstract
Aim: This study aims at examining cardiovascular knowledge comprehensively among the Jordanian population.
Design: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used.
Methods: A convenience sample of 1,050 participants living in Amman city was recruited. A pre-standard questionnaire was used to comprehensively assess participants' knowledge of cardiac diseases composed of 30 questions about dietary knowledge, epidemiology, medical information, risk factors, and heart attack symptoms.
Results: A total of 54.9% were female and 41.0% were employed. The vast majority of participants lived with their families (n=929, 88.5%). Generally, the total scores of all cardiac items have a total score of (M= 18.8out of 30, SD=1.2), with a mean score of 3.8 out of 6 in dietary knowledge, 2.5 out of 4 in recognizing the cardiac epidemiology, 4.0 out of 7 in knowing the cardiac medical information, 6.3 out of 9 in defining the main risk factors to develop cardiac diseases, and only 2.2 out of 4 in identifying the heart attack symptoms. The total score of cardiac knowledge is statistically significant among females rather than males (t (1,050) =2.6, P=.002). Participants with higher educational levels showed statistically significant results in dietary domain and cardiovascular risk factors (t (1,050)= 3.4, P=.035, and t (1,050)= 2.9 (.003)), respectively.
Public contribution: Jordanian population has a relatively low public cardiac knowledge score in all aspects of heart diseases which could be contributing to the lack of educational programs about the further complication of heart diseases, poor health literacy, poor socioeconomic conditions among the Jordanian population, lack of system training programs to educate the general population.
Keywords: Cardiovascular knowledge; risk factors; Jordan; lifestyle; medical information; cardiac symptoms; dietary habits; heart attack; epidemiology; nurses.
Design: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used.
Methods: A convenience sample of 1,050 participants living in Amman city was recruited. A pre-standard questionnaire was used to comprehensively assess participants' knowledge of cardiac diseases composed of 30 questions about dietary knowledge, epidemiology, medical information, risk factors, and heart attack symptoms.
Results: A total of 54.9% were female and 41.0% were employed. The vast majority of participants lived with their families (n=929, 88.5%). Generally, the total scores of all cardiac items have a total score of (M= 18.8out of 30, SD=1.2), with a mean score of 3.8 out of 6 in dietary knowledge, 2.5 out of 4 in recognizing the cardiac epidemiology, 4.0 out of 7 in knowing the cardiac medical information, 6.3 out of 9 in defining the main risk factors to develop cardiac diseases, and only 2.2 out of 4 in identifying the heart attack symptoms. The total score of cardiac knowledge is statistically significant among females rather than males (t (1,050) =2.6, P=.002). Participants with higher educational levels showed statistically significant results in dietary domain and cardiovascular risk factors (t (1,050)= 3.4, P=.035, and t (1,050)= 2.9 (.003)), respectively.
Public contribution: Jordanian population has a relatively low public cardiac knowledge score in all aspects of heart diseases which could be contributing to the lack of educational programs about the further complication of heart diseases, poor health literacy, poor socioeconomic conditions among the Jordanian population, lack of system training programs to educate the general population.
Keywords: Cardiovascular knowledge; risk factors; Jordan; lifestyle; medical information; cardiac symptoms; dietary habits; heart attack; epidemiology; nurses.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Nursing Open |
| Publication status | Submitted - 19 Jul 2023 |