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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Erika LaVerne Barlow, BS, M3, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Illinois-Chicago College of Medicine at Rockford, 1601 Parkview Ave, Rockford, IL 61107 and M. Nawal Lutfiyya, PhD, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Univerity of Illinois Chicago-College of Medicine at Rockford, 1601 Parkview Ave, Rockford, IL 61107, 815-395-5783, lutfiyya@uic.edu.

Purpose: African American women are more likely to die of heart disease than Caucasian women. We were interested in examining population-based data to determine levels of heart attack and stroke symptom knowledge of African American women ages > 18 through 89 years.

Methods: From the 13 heart attack and stroke symptom knowledge questions asked on the survey a Heart Attack and Stroke Knowledge Score was computed. A logistic regression model was performed using high score (11-13 points) on the heart attack and stroke knowledge questions as the dependent variable and age, education, household income, health insurance status, deferring medical care because of cost, had a heart attack and had a stroke as covariates.

Results: Multivariate analysis yielded that African American women who scored high on the heart attack and stroke knowledge questions had greater odds of: having had a stroke (OR = 4.627) and having a primary health care provider (OR = 1.132). They had lesser odds of: being aged 35-54 (OR= .647) or older (OR = .720); having had a heart attack (OR = .660); having deferred medical care because of cost (OR = .517); and having at least a high school education (OR = .467).

Conclusions: Knowledge of heart attack and stroke symptoms varies significantly among African American women, depending on past medical history of heart attack and stroke, attainment of health care insurance, age, access to a primary health care provider, ability to pay for medical care, household income, and education.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the characteristics of African American Women who are knowledgeable about heart attack and stroke symptoms.
• Identify the characteristics of African American women who are less kowledgeable about heart attack and stroke symptoms.
• Develop public education strategies to address disparities in heart attack and stroke symptom knowledge of African American women.

Keywords: African American, Women's Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation