The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, Washington State University, 214 Goertzen Hall, Pullman WA 99163. Email:
Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Washington State University, Seattle, Washington.
Prev Chronic Dis. 2020 Dec 17;17:E160. doi: 10.5888/pcd17.200189.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among American Indians and Alaska Natives. Reducing CVD risk requires effective communication about risk factors and preventive behaviors. Messages should be designed with an understanding of where people seek health information, their perceptions of a hazard, and their perception of information sufficiency. We examined these components of message design to inform strategies to effectively communicate information about CVD to American Indians and Alaska Natives.
We surveyed 220 adults who self-identified as American Indians or Alaska Natives at 2 Native-focused events in urban areas. Our survey included items on demographic characteristics, place of residence, sources of information used to learn about CVD, perceived information sufficiency, and perceptions about the importance of CVD as a health problem.
Respondents used the internet (67%), their doctors (66%), friends and relatives (63%), brochures (62%), and television (61%) to learn about CVD. Participants aged 60 or older and those living on a reservation were more likely to use their doctor to learn about CVD than their younger (≤30 y) or urban peers. CVD was viewed as a major problem for American Indians and Alaska Natives (84%) and for Americans in general (86%). Most respondents felt moderately (54%) or well informed (37%) about CVD.
Various information sources should be used to increase awareness about CVD. Special attention may be needed to optimize communication to American Indians and Alaska Natives aged 60 or older and people living on reservations. Further study is needed to determine how our findings can best inform effective interventions to reduce CVD morbidity and mortality among these populations.
心血管疾病（CVD）是美国印第安人和阿拉斯加原住民的主要死因。降低 CVD 风险需要就危险因素和预防行为进行有效沟通。信息传递需基于人们获取健康信息的途径、对危害的认知以及对信息充足性的感知。我们对这些信息设计要素进行了研究，以确定向美国印第安人和阿拉斯加原住民有效传递 CVD 信息的策略。
我们在城市地区的 2 个以原住民为重点的活动中调查了 220 名自我认定为美国印第安人或阿拉斯加原住民的成年人。我们的调查包括人口特征、居住地点、用于了解 CVD 的信息来源、感知信息充足性以及对 CVD 作为健康问题重要性的看法等项目。
受访者使用互联网（67%）、医生（66%）、朋友和亲戚（63%）、宣传册（62%）和电视（61%）来了解 CVD。60 岁或以上的参与者和居住在保留地的参与者比年轻（≤30 岁）或城市同龄人更有可能通过医生了解 CVD。CVD 被视为美国印第安人和阿拉斯加原住民（84%）和美国人（86%）的主要问题。大多数受访者对 CVD 感到中等程度（54%）或非常了解（37%）。
应使用各种信息来源来提高对 CVD 的认识。可能需要特别注意优化对 60 岁或以上的美国印第安人和阿拉斯加原住民以及居住在保留地的人的沟通。需要进一步研究如何最好地利用我们的发现为这些人群减少 CVD 发病率和死亡率提供有效的干预措施。
