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SAGE Publications, American Journal of Health Promotion, 4(27), p. 252-261, 2013

DOI: 10.4278/ajhp.101221-qual-408

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Community Mobilization, Participation, and Blood Pressure Status in a Cardiovascular Health Awareness Program in Ontario

This paper was not found in any repository, but could be made available legally by the author.
This paper was not found in any repository, but could be made available legally by the author.

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Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

Purpose. To determine the feasibility of a community-wide approach integrated with primary care (Cardiovascular Health Awareness Program [CHAP]) to promote monitoring of blood pressure (BP) and awareness of cardiovascular disease risk. Design. Demonstration project. Setting. Two midsized Ontario communities. Participants. Community-dwelling seniors. Intervention. CHAP sessions were offered in pharmacies and promoted to seniors using advertising and personalized letters from physicians. Trained volunteers measured BP, completed risk profiles, and provided risk-specific education materials. Method. We examined the distribution of risk factors among participants and predictors of multiple visits and elevated BP. Results. Opinion leaders aided recruitment of family physicians (n = 56/63) and pharmacists (n = 18/19). Over 90 volunteers were recruited. Invitations were mailed to 4394 seniors. Over 10 weeks, there were 4165 assessments of 2350 unique participants (approximately 30% of senior residents). 37.5% of attendees had untreated (16%; 360/2247) or uncontrolled (21.5%; 482/2247) high BP. Participants who received a letter (odds ratio [OR] 2.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.1–3.0), had an initial elevated BP (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.0–1.5), or reported current antihypertensive medication (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.1–1.6) were more likely to attend multiple sessions (p ≤ .05 for all). Older age (≥ 70 years; OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.3–1.8), BMI ≥ 30 (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.4–2.2), current antihypertensive medication (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.3–1.9), and diabetes (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.9–3.2) predicted elevated BP (p < .001 for all). Conclusion. The program yielded learning about community mobilization and identified a substantial number of seniors with undiagnosed/uncontrolled high BP.