College of Social and Behavioral Science
136 Exploring Perception and Knowledge about Sudden Cardiac Arrest and Heart Attack Among the Underserved Patients Utilizing a Free Clinic
Danaya Amornnimit; Akiko Kamimura; and Sia Chauhan
Faculty Mentor: Akiko Kamimura (Sociology, University of Utah)
Background
Health disparities due to socioeconomic factors, ethnicity, and healthcare access contribute to the higher prevalence and mortality of cardiovascular disease among underserved patients utilizing the free clinic. Free clinic patients often have very limited healthcare options while the free clinics often have limited resources. This quantitative study assesses the free clinic patients’ perception and knowledge on cardiovascular health to improve the community health, particularly cardiovascular health.
Methods
A convenience sample of Maliheh Free Clinic patients aged 18 years and older participated in a self-administered survey, available in English and Spanish, from October 2023 to February 2024. This questionnaire is developed to gather data on the free clinic patients’ demographics, their perspectives on health and health services, and health literacy on the symptoms and risk factors of cardiovascular disease.
Results
346 patients, 218 of whom were Spanish-speakers, participated in the study. Most patients identified high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, obesity, and family history but overlooked diabetes, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, older age, and heavy alcohol/tobacco as risk factors of heart disease. The majority of patients were unaware of various heart attack symptoms including tightness in the chest, cold sweat, fatigue, heartburn, indigestion and pain/discomfort in the back, neck, teeth, shoulder, upper belly and jaw.
Conclusions
This research suggests a strong need for improvement in the understanding of heart disease among free clinic patients as there are gaps in knowledge and preparedness regarding cardiovascular disease symptoms and risk factors. Two limitations are that this study excludes those who do not speak English or Spanish and as a localized study, the findings are not generalizable to the entire United States population. Future direction includes carrying out further research to properly develop a health service and program that enhances the cardiovascular health of the community.
