Brazilian Research Initiatives for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at the community - and practice-based level - literature review

ABSTRACT

Context. Despite the growing number of CVD in Brazilian general population reported, community-based interventions, which are essential in this context, are scarce and rarely evaluated. Objective. The aim of this study was to carry out a community- and/or practice-based level research intervention, to develop and evaluate a set of CVD prevention actions targeting the vulnerability of Brazilian population. Method. Literature review was done in 2 databases, Scielo and Online Brazilian Journal of Nursing, from 2006 to July 2009. Results. Two hundred and two articles concerning the subject were identified and analyzed, but only 43 were retrieved. The results showed that research in CVDs prevention remains undeveloped compared to other aspects of cardiovascular disease treatment. Mainly of the reports are related to practice-based interventions. Conclusions. There is a pressing need for practice-based interventions to prevent CVD in the population lead by registered nurses and for the executive nurses the pressing need is related to define and implement community-based interventions related to preventive interventions for CVDs.