Enhancing community motivation and participation in control of smoking

@#<p style="text-align: justify;">The aim of this study was to develop strategies for enhancing community motivation and participation in smoking control in one municipality, in the North-eastern part of Thailand. The Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach was used whereby the researchers facilitate and empower a community. Community meetings were set up for exchange of experiences and for volunteers who could participate in a counseling training program. These volunteers were screened to promote group motivation, initiate a culturally relevant medium, and to create a network for community organization. Motivation was enhanced by volunteers among three partners: 1) smokers - to become healthier through counseling about information of the harmful effects of smoking and benefits of quitting smoking; 2) families - encouraged household members to assess their health, expenditure, and outcomes if any of their own family members stopped smoking; and 3) communities - raised awareness toward smoking control among housewives, workers, seniors, and adolescent groups, who founded a sense of caring for one another as their cousins, increased the number of free-smoking zones in temples, schools, health centers, ex-smokers' houses and areas for community activities. Lessons were learned by the communities, health problems and high cost of cigarette were the greatest motivation for success, but suffering from smoking withdrawal symptoms attributed to unsuccessful quitting of tobacco. 10 out of the 19 villages continued those activities for 18 months. These villages enhanced community motivation and participation in smoking control; however, decreasing the number of new smokers remains of considerable concern.</p>

Suboptimal Attainment of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Guideline Goals in Korean Women

PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to estimate the distribution of three levels of risk for developing coronary heart disease (CHD; low, moderate, and high risk) and to evaluate the attainment of cardiovascular disease prevention guideline goals by the American Heart Association in a nationally representative sample of Korean women. METHODS: This is a secondary data analysis study using the data set from the 2008 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey IV. The sample was 3,301 Korean women (representing 15,600,514 women) older than 20 years without cardiovascular disease. Distribution of CHD risk and level of goal attainment were calculated using sampling weights and presented in percentages. RESULTS: Among Korean women without established cardiovascular disease, 7.9% were at high risk for CHD, 20.5% were at moderate risk, and 71.6% were at low risk. The proportion of Korean women who did not meet their goals was substantial, and most women at high risk remained unmanaged for their high blood lipids. CONCLUSION: Korean women at risk for developing CHD need to be managed as soon as possible to attain the guideline goals and to lower their risk for future CHD. Aggressive risk reduction efforts are urgently needed to reduce the public burden of CHD in Korean women.

Cardiovascular Risk Factors and 10-year Risk for Coronary Heart Disease in Korean Women

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to describe the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and to estimate the 10-year risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) in a nationally representative sample of Korean women. METHODS: This is a secondary data analysis using the data set from the 2008 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey IV. The sample was 2,998 Korean women (weighted n = 14,420,987) aged 20e79 years without cardiovascular disease or diabetes. Prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors was calculated using sampling weights and presented in percentages. Ten-year risk for CHD was estimated with the Framingham Risk Score, and the proportions for three levels of 10-year risk were presented. RESULTS: About 18% of the sample had hypertension, 7.5% are current smoker, 30.0% had total cholesterol > or = 200 mg/dL, 25.7% had low-density lipoprotein cholesterol > or = 130 mg/dL, and 47.3% had high-density lipoprotein cholesterol 20%. CONCLUSION: Modifiable cardiovascular risk factors are highly prevalent in Korean women, and the combination of risk factors is common. Development and implementation of multifaceted nursing interventions are required to confront the current epidemic rise of CHD in Korean women.