Assessment of knowledge and perception on risk for cardiovascular diseases

Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases are a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels. Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in India, and its contribution to mortality is rising. According to WHO, most cardiovascular diseases can be prevented by addressing behavioral risk factors such as tobacco use, unhealthy diet, obesity, physical inactivity and harmful use of alcohol using population wide strategies and for successful prevention of cardiovascular diseases, knowledge is an important pre requisite. Hence this study aimed to assess knowledge and perception on risk for cardiovascular diseases among the ministerial staffs. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among ministerial staffs working in various departments (Administrative section, academic section and clinical departments) of JIPMER, Puducherry. 263 ministerial staffs were selected by non-probability convenience sampling technique. The data was collected by using modified structured questionnaire. Results: The study showed that majority 53.6% had moderate level of knowledge and most of them 87.5% had increased perception on risk for cardiovascular disease. There was no correlation between knowledge and perception. There was an association between levels of knowledge with family history of cardiovascular diseases and between level of perception with smoking status & family history of cardiovascular disease at p<0.05. Conclusion: The above findings reveal the importance of the need for implementation of awareness on cardio vascular risk factors and disease.