Cardiovascular disease causes 30% of deaths globally. By comparison, infectious disease accounts for 10% of
global mortality. As these statistics indicate, cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in the
world. In South Africa, through urbanisation and changes in lifestyle and dietary habits, the prevalence of risk
factors and, by extension, the resulting morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease in black people, are
expected to increase. Owing to the natural progression of the disease, the first ‘westernised illness’ is hypertension,
which is very prevalent among the black population. Knowledge and awareness of risk factors are essential components
of behaviour change; however, little is known about the knowledge and awareness of cardiovascular disease
among the working-age people in the Ga-Rankuwa community. The purpose of the study was therefore to determine
the knowledge and awareness of the identified risk factors among the working-age people (18-40 years old) in the
Ga-Rankuwa community. The design was a quantitative survey. The study sample (n=604) was selected from zones
1, 2, 4 and 16 of Ga-Rankuwa to determine the prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Only people
with an identified risk factor were included in the knowledge and awareness survey (n=551). Data was gathered from
July to October 2005. The data gathering was self-reported with a structured questionnaire. Data were analysed
using descriptive statistics and statistical analysis. The results obtained from the knowledge and awareness survey
indicate that knowledge and awareness of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease are low in the Ga-Rankuwa
community.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:tut/oai:encore.tut.ac.za:d1000312 |
| Date | 17 November 2008 |
| Creators | Yuqiu, L, Wright, SCD |
| Publisher | Health SA Gesondheid |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | |
| Rights | Health SA Gesondheid |
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