Understandings of cardiovascular disease and risk: Perceptions from aging, rural Hispanic immigrants in Illinois

Health disparity occurs disproportionately among underserved populations including Hispanics, persons who reside in rural areas and those in older age groups. This group is often characterized as being at ‘triple jeopardy' with regard to risk for developing chronic conditions including cardiovascular disease (CVD). Limited efforts aimed at CVD prevention for these groups exist but are not well utilized due to a number of factors including language and cultural issues and generalized knowledge gaps regarding CVD prevention and treatment options. To address these gaps, the CDC funded Cardiovascular Health Intervention Research and Translation Network (CHIRTN) was established among 6 universities each of which engaged in demonstration research activities designed to elicit information needs and ideas from a variety of diverse, underserved populations. In Illinois, we conducted 5 focus groups with 64 Hispanic immigrants ages 18-78, from five rural communities. In this study we report on age, acculturation and gender difference patterns expressed with regard to disease and risk factor knowledge, understandings of CVD prevention and recommendations for effective intervention strategies. Compared to their younger counterparts, older Hispanics in rural areas were less likely to express accurate information about CVD disease, symptoms and risk factors but were more likely to express interests in prevention. Moreover, these findings remain fairly consistent when considering the effect of acculturation as measured by length of residence in the US. The participant's recommendations for intervention strategies would be useful to program planners who want to address rural Hispanic CVD and risk through culturally sensitive and responsive programming.