Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of the community based Cardiovascular Health Awareness Program (CHAP) on morbidity from cardiovascular disease. Design Community cluster randomised trial. Setting 39 mid-sized communities in Ontario, Canada, stratified by location and population size. Participants Community dwelling residents aged 65 years or over, family physicians, pharmacists, volunteers, community nurses, and local lead organisations. Intervention Communities were randomised to receive CHAP (n=20) or no intervention (n=19). In CHAP communities, residents aged 65 or over were invited to attend volunteer run cardiovascular risk assessment and education sessions held in community based pharmacies over a 10 week period; automated blood pressure readings and self reported risk factor data were collected and shared with participants and their family physicians and pharmacists. Main outcome measure Composite of hospital admissions for acute myocardial infarction, stroke, and congestive heart failure among all community residents aged 65 and over in the year before compared with the year after implementation of CHAP. Results All 20 intervention communities successfully implemented CHAP. A total of 1265 three hour long sessions were held in 129/145 (89%) pharmacies during the 10 week programme. 15 889 unique participants had a total of 27 358 cardiovascular assessments with the assistance of 577 peer volunteers. After adjustment for hospital admission rates in the year before the intervention, CHAP was associated with a 9% relative reduction in the composite end point (rate ratio 0.91, 95% confidence interval 0.86 to 0.97; P=0.002) or 3.02 fewer annual hospital admissions for cardiovascular disease per 1000 people aged 65 and over. Statistically significant reductions favouring the intervention communities were seen in hospital admissions for acute myocardial infarction (rate ratio 0.87, 0.79 to 0.97; P=0.008) and congestive heart failure (0.90, 0.81 to 0.99; P=0.029) but not for stroke (0.99, 0.88 to 1.12; P=0.89). Conclusions A collaborative, multi-pronged, community based health promotion and prevention programme targeted at older adults can reduce cardiovascular morbidity at the population level. Trial registration Current controlled trials ISRCTN50550004.
Volunteers can support the delivery and sustainability of programs promoting chronic disease awareness to improve health at the community level. This paper describes the development of the peer education component of the Cardiovascular Health Awareness Program (CHAP) and assessment of the volunteer peer educator role in a community-wide demonstration project in two mid-sized Ontario communities. A case study approach was used incorporating process learning, a volunteer survey and debriefing discussions with volunteers. A post-program questionnaire was administered to 48 volunteers. Five debriefing discussions were conducted with 27 volunteers using a semi-structured interview guide. Discussions were audio-recorded and transcribed. Analysis used an editing approach to identify themes, taking into account the community-specific context. Volunteers reported an overall positive experience and identified rewarding aspects of their involvement. They felt well prepared but appreciated ongoing training and support and requested more refresher training. Understanding of program objectives increased volunteer satisfaction. Volunteers continued to develop their role during the program; however, organizational and logistical factors sometimes limited skill acquisition and contributions. The prospect of greater involvement in providing tailored health education resources addressing modifiable risk factors was acceptable to most volunteers. Continued refinement of strategies to recruit, train, retain and support volunteers strengthened the peer education component of CHAP. The experience and contributions of volunteers were influenced by the wider context of program delivery. Process evaluation allowed program planners to anticipate challenges, strengthen support for volunteer activities, and expand the peer educator role. This learning can inform similar peer-led health promotion initiatives.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.