ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND. To explore unfavorable effects, health perception was assessed in patients enrolled in a cardiovascular program in general practice. METHODS. A prospective questionnaire survey was conducted shortly after risk detection and after 1 year of intervention. Patients (n=413) with an elevated risk were selected from 27 practices in The Netherlands. The outcome measure was patients' perceptions of their general health status. RESULTS. The response rate was 62%. Two thirds of the patients did not show any change in general health status at either point in time. Substantially more patients showed improvement after 1 year of intervention. Compared to reference data, no major differences were found. CONCLUSION. Enrollment in a cardiovascular risk detection and intervention program did not lead to unfavorable perceptions of general health status, either shortly after risk detection or after 1 year of intervention. (c) 2001 by CHF, Inc.
