A cardiovascular disease risk factor screening program designed to reach rural residents of Maine, USA
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-5-2011
Publication Title
Rural and remote Health
Keywords
cardiovascular risk factors, cardiovascular diseases, prevention & control, health screening methods, USM
Abstract
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in many countries and a particular burden to rural communities. Hypertension and diabetes are risk factors for cardiovascular disease, but screening for them is suboptimal, particularly in rural settings. Thus screening programs targeting rural dwellers may be important. This article reports the findings of a blood pressure (BP) and blood glucose screening program conducted from a mobile van that visited community events including agricultural fairs across Maine, USA to bring screening to rural Mainers. The study objectives were to determine: (1) if the screening program was successful at reaching rural Mainers; (2) if rural screenees had a different risk of hypertension or diabetes compared with non-rural screenees; and (3) what characteristics of a community event predict that a screening conducted at that event will reach a high fraction of rural residents.
Recommended Citation
Harris D.E., Hamel L., Aboueissa A., & Johnson D. (2011). A cardiovascular disease risk factor screening program designed to reach rural residents of Maine, USA. Rural and Remote Health 11, 1727.
