Level Of Application Of The Knowledge Acquired On Cardiovascular Health Risk Factors
From Electronic Media
A key function of a basic and clinical biomedical research organization is to communicate the findings
of clinical investigations so that people may apply the results to improve their health and well-being.
To help communicate results from cardiovascular disease research, the National Heart, Lung, and
Blood Institute has established a series of national health education programs. The authors describe a
model for two of the five programs and discuss the role of communication media in supporting national
goals for education programs Williams, (1998).
According to Baker, (1997), the research basis for the programs is reviewed, together with the process
by which the Institute develops information materials for mass media, notably public service
announcements. A description of two national health education campaigns, hypertension and
cholesterol, illustrates how market research is used to identify appropriate target audiences, develop
messages, and select channels of communication. Lessons learned about the role of mass media in a
national health education campaign are summarized.
According to Davis, (1996).Information can be an important tool in promoting a prevention strategy to
address the emerging epidemic of cardiovascular disease in developing countries. Advances in
information and communication technology offer new promises for global access to information and
for global mobilization to prevent and control cardiovascular disease. This is especially true for health
professionals, whose needs in areas such as networking, exchange of expertise and access to relevant
advances remain unfulfilled. Tippy, et al. (1998) further asserts that Information technology can also
sensitize the lay public to the magnitude of cardiovascular diseases, creating awareness about risk
states, and highlighting preventive strategies. Effective application mandates that the technology be
relevant to local needs. According to Cost, feasibility, and relevance of information need to be
considered before wide adoption is advocated. Several initiatives, such as ProCOR, Global
Cardiovascular Infobase, Heartfile, and the Virtual Congress of Cardiology, have successfully utilized
information technology to promote cardiovascular prevention. The experience of these initiatives
suggests that, while information technology holds great potential, there are many potential perils, such
according to Steven G. (1991) healthcare marketing plans: From strategy to action. Boston: Jones and
Bartlett. For now, information technology must be viewed as part of a broader strategy, which includes
conventional communication media, to address the unmet information needs for cardiovascular
prevention globally. Enlightened policies can exploit the energies of the recent information boom for
promoting cardiovascular prevention, taking into account the considered limitations.
According to Berkowitz, (1998), Healthcare marketing plans: From strategy to action. Boston: Jones
and Bartlett. Information and communication technologies offer new possibilities to advance health in
developing countries. Tools such as e-mail and the World Wide Web can facilitate communication,
allow access to health resources for both health professionals and the lay public, promote research, and
facilitate management of the rapidly expanding volume of biomedical knowledge.
According to Eisenberg, (1993) in developing countries, currently experiencing a rise in cardiovascular
diseases, the use of information technology can be an attractive option to highlight and promote
prevention.
Remme, (2005) asserts that access to new information on cost-effective solutions to clinical or public
health problems is sorely needed in developing countries. For example, information recently available
about the benefits of the relatively affordable beta-blockers and spironolactone for heart failure can be
very useful for clinical practitioners. Information has tremendous potential for bridging the gaps in the
continuing medical education of health professionals, especially those. Information technology can be
used to increase the awareness of health professionals of the importance of prevention, thereby
contributing to a more effective advocacy for a preventive approach to cardiovascular diseases in
remote rural areas
McMurray, (2005) Information can sensitize the public to the magnitude of cardiovascular diseases,
creating awareness about risks and highlighting preventive strategies. However, information
technology remains accessible only to a minority of the population due to prohibitive costs and partial
or complete illiteracy. This highlights the need to improve equitable access and overcome the barriers
of illiteracy. Remme, (2009) nevertheless, information technology can be useful in reaching already
connected subgroups of the population to reinforce the value of risk reduction. For now, traditional
media sources, such as television and print material, and other means of communication, such as health
education at the community and village levels, remain the most widely available means for the
dissemination of health information to the public.
2.3 The relationship between electronic media and knowledge on cardiovascular health in the
rural-urban communities
According to Davis, et al. (1996), successfully influencing physical activity levels in the whole
population will require the development of effective interventions that can be provided to large
numbers of people at low cost. Although results are now available from a number of mass media–
oriented community-wide cardiovascular risk reduction trials, much of what is known about health-
related behavior change is based on research utilizing intensive programs delivered to small numbers of
people. Tippy, et al. (1999) further asserts that Media based interventions—those interventions that
reach individuals using some medium other than personal contact with a health professional or service
provider offer a possible means for reaching larger numbers of people at less expense than that
associated with face to face services.
According to Kelly, A, (2005), variety of health, fitness, and physical activity messages have been parts
of broadcast media (particularly television) for many years, and now fitness and exercise sites dot the
World Wide Web. Pamphlets and posters are ubiquitous, and face-to-face advice on health behavior
change often is followed by the advisee departing with physical activity pamphlets in hand. In fact,
behavioral self-help physical activity instructions have been around for more than two decades. Smyth,
(2006) asserts that despite the appeal of reaching a greater number of individuals with less labor-
intensive means and greater sophistication in technology for delivering the message, little is known
about the efficacy of media-based methods in promoting higher levels of physical activity behavior
among individuals, groups, communities, or nations.
According to O’Donovan, (2005), Health professionals have realized that although they may be expert
in assessing what people should do, they are not necessarily expert in communicating their messages or
in motivating and facilitating behavioral change. Such communication can take the form of mass-reach
broadcast media advertising (television and radio advertisements or programs), print-based materials,
audiovisual materials, and the newer multimedia initiatives. Kelly, A, (2008), asserts that social
marketing has a broader focus than the use of media-based communication methods and addresses
some important contextual issues around media-based health communications. Social marketing has
become highly influential in the health field, but has been criticized by those who feel that a marketing
perspective largely ignores the social, economic, and environmental factors that influence individual
behaviors.
According to Steven G. (1991), Large-scale community campaigns to promote physical activity have
been conducted over the past three decades. For example, the “Participation” programs in Canada have
demonstrated increased awareness of, and interest in, exercising during the time their campaigns have
been running; the Health style program, a national media health promotion program in the United
States, reported increases in awareness and intentions related to exercising; and the “Life—Be in It”
program in Australia found high levels of awareness of the campaign, reports of increased participation
in exercise, and frequent endorsement of beliefs about the health benefits of exercising. An early
review of these, and other community-wide programs to promote exercising, reached the following
conclusions: Berkowitz, (1991) asserts that there had been virtually no controlled research studies on
the effects of community-based physical activity programs, but from other evidence available, the
provision of a variety of physical activity facilities by various community organizations does enable
people to be more active; the use of mass media appeared to be successful in promoting awareness and
interest in exercising, but had not been successful in actually changing exercise behavior.
According to Pelle, (2008), more recent mass media campaigns have included assessments of physical
activity behavior change, but promote several behaviors related to cardiovascular risk reduction with
physical activity as one component. Consistent with this, six of the seven mass-media campaigns
included in this review were campaigns focused
According to Szabó, B. (2008), in sum, media-based approaches were effective in a variety of settings
and delivery methods. Indirect contact via telephone, printed self-help materials, and other media-based
methods can enhance face-to-face counseling or be effective as the sole intervention strategy. However,
with current data in which personal contact and media-based approaches were used in combination, it is
difficult to isolate effects achieved from the two approaches. Also, our understanding is limited
concerning the types of media-based messages that are most effective, the frequency with which media
based interventions should be delivered, the subgroups who benefit most from media-based
interventions, and the forms of media most effective in promoting physical activity behavior change.
Research on media-based interventions has not yet provided extensive data on the long-term
maintenance of change in physical activity behavior. For the impact of media-based interventions to be
maintained, support systems will be required to prompt and support participation over time. Scheduled
follow-up contact by telephone is one option with the potential to have an impact on maintenance; print
materials or personalized print materials may prove to be effective and much lower cost alternatives to
telephone counseling, Davis, et al. (1996).
According to Meldrum, et al. (1997), across studies, message recall was quite high for mass media
campaigns, indicating that media-based methods based on Social Marketing Theory reach large
numbers of individuals. Large-scale campaigns appear to successfully educate and to reinforce public
awareness of physical activity benefits, and while some campaigns have demonstrated the ability to
increase individuals’ intention to become active, change in physical activity behavior has been
minimal. Smaller-scale physical activity trials, which utilize methods for fine-tuning the intervention
and targeting subgroups, are more efficacious but have less public health impact. Greater impact on
public health may be achieved from applying strategies successfully used in the smaller-scale studies to
large-scale campaigns. For example, expert system reports, motivation-matched print materials, and
brief telephone contacts could be used to enhance support for physical activity behavior change at
minimal cost.
McGee, (2007) asserts that findings from the large-scale mass-media campaigns are equivocal, but for
the smaller-scale interventions findings are generally positive. Self-help and home based programs
have been shown to be as effective, and in some cases more effective, than structured exercise classes.
Interventions tailored to the needs of specific populations and those that allow individuals more
flexibility for incorporating physical activity into their lifestyle have been shown to be efficacious,
although studies have not demonstrated the extent of tailoring necessary for efficacy. Interventions that
are delivered in more frequent doses generally increase adherence.
Critical Reviews
Cardiovascular health needs to be robustly addressed at both population and individual level.
Cardiovascular health management constitutes a national development investment, as important as
current national infrastructural developments. Yet, we appear to spend little of our healthcare budget,
relative to our EU counterparts, on cardiovascular health. We are at an important decision point in
terms of a future – a future where we have either invested significantly to ensure that the cardiovascular
health of the nation continues to improve, or a future where we did not seize the opportunity and so
reflect back to this time as a turning point in terms of deterioration in national cardiovascular health
Royston, (2007).
Even modest changes in risk factor levels among the population will bring about important
improvements in people’s health. Importantly, the negative impacts of these risk factors for chronic
disease can be quickly reversed and most benefits will accrue within a decade. To ensure a reversal of
these negative impacts, a coordinated intersectoral approach to addressing the health determinants and
health inequalities is required, led by Government through the Department of Health and Children.
The individual determinants of cardiovascular health and disease are similar to those relating to overall
disease burden – smoking, raised blood pressure, raised blood cholesterol, physical inactivity, obesity
and diabetes mellitus are the major factors that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, O’Neill,
(2008).
Dietary fat is the major determinant of raised cholesterol in developed countries. Thus, saturated fats
from foods such as fatty meats, dairy products, cakes and biscuits increase cholesterol levels, as do
trans-fats from oils used in fast-food cooking. Replacement of such fats with monounsaturated and
polyunsaturated fats in vegetable oils decreases cholesterol levels. Conversely, fruit and vegetables
contain antioxidants that have a protective effect on the formation of atherosclerosis in arteries
Summary
Cardiovascular related diseases are common the world over. However, this heart related diseases are
commonly referred to as lifestyle disease owing to the fact that they are caused by life related issues
like stress and diet level. It has been proven that proper consideration of a healthy lifestyle reduces
cardiovascular related ailments for up to 80%.
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