Awareness of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Among U.S. Adults

Litzy Cortorreal Minaya

Co-Presenters: Individual Presentation

College: College of Health Professions and Human Services

Major: BS.PUBLICHEALTH

Faculty Research Mentor: Das Iyer, Sharmistha  

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to measure the knowledge of cardiovascular disease among adults in the United States. This study used a mixed-methods approach to collect and analyze the data. The survey received an amount of 25 complete responses. In the survey, the quantitative questions collected asked the participants about their race, ethnicity, age, and gender. The open-ended questions were about where they received their health education, what they believed were barriers towards healthy habits, resources that they thought would increase their knowledge, and the factors that they considered contributed the most to heart disease. The survey revealed that, on average, participants who received health education from multiple sources identified more risk factors than those with fewer methods of learning. The data collected about the risk factors that the participants identified also showed that adults between the ages of 18 and 24 recognized poor nutrition most frequently, while adults above 35 years old identified high cholesterol, obesity, and physical activity equally. When analyzed collectively, the data showed that participants had a hard time recognizing periodontal disease and exposure to high temperatures as possible risks. For future studies, the researcher recommends collecting a higher number of responses from varied races so that everyone can be represented. Nevertheless, this study can inform other studies about current levels of awareness.