Knowledge and practice: the risk of cardiovascular disease among Asian Indians. Results from focus groups conducted in Asian Indian communities in Northern California.

OBJECTIVE

The focus groups were utilized to gather information on the perceptions of cardiovascular risk within the Asian Indian community, and to identify opportunities to design health promotion and intervention programs for Asian Indian communities.

DESIGN

Qualitative methods were utilized to obtain perceptions of cardiovascular risk within 3 Asian Indian communities. Eight focus groups were conducted in either English or Punjabi.

SETTING

These focus groups were conducted as part of a 3-year community-based participatory research project examining cardiovascular risk factors among the Asian Indian population in Northern California.

PARTICIPANTS

Focus group participants were selected through referrals from community-based organizations, postings in local community centers, and businesses. Fifty-seven men and women were recruited using snowball sampling.

RESULTS

Six themes emerged from the focus groups: knowledge of cardiovascular disease, health and cultural concerns regarding diet, physical activity levels, stress as a factor for cardiovascular disease, acculturation concerns, and cardiovascular prevention ideas.

CONCLUSIONS

The use of focus groups was an effective method for gathering information on perceptions of cardiovascular risk, and collecting information on risk behaviors within these Asian Indian communities. In this study, we found that psychosocial and cultural factors, especially cultural issues concerning stress and acculturation, surfaced as key elements across all 8 focus groups.