Abstract
BackgroundIt has been reported that the prevalence of chronic diseases is high among old people and they have poor chronic diseases knowledge. This study was therefore designed to evaluate the awareness rate of chronic diseases knowledge among people aged over 60 years, to explore its related factors and to provide evidence for future health education.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted from April to August in 2011. People aged 60 years and above from 3 communities in Jinan were selected by cluster sampling. Nine hundred and twenty five participants were interviewed face-to-face using a structured questionnaire.ResultsThe awareness rates of chronic diseases knowledge varied from 29.5% to 90.2%. Four healthy lifestyles including quitting smoking and less drinking, keeping broad-minded, maintaining balanced diet and moderate physical activity were best known (from 86.3% to 90.2%). The least known knowledge were 2 complications of hypertension: nephropathy (29.5%) and retinopathy (37.2%). Participants with the following characteristics or behaviors were more likely to have higher chronic diseases knowledge: younger age, female, Han Chinese, higher level of education, having health insurance, participating in societies, having family history of chronic diseases, frequently gathering with friends/relatives, usually going to provincial hospitals/hospitals affiliated with medical universities, usually going to municipal hospitals and usually going to community health center/station.ConclusionsOld people in Jinan had incomplete chronic diseases knowledge and the overall awareness rate was not high. The older people’s chronic diseases knowledge should be improved and health education programs should target males, older people with lower educational level, having no health insurance, having no family history of chronic diseases, participating in no societies, and less frequently gathering with friends/relatives. Also, lower level medical facilities should improve their skills of health education.
Highlights
A United Nations (UN) report showed that globally the population of older persons is growing at a rate of 2.6% per year, considerably faster than the population as a whole (1.2%)
The China National Committee on Ageing reported that China had become an ageing society since 1999, and predicted that the ageing population would surpass 400 million, accounting for 30% of the total population in 2050, which would result in a heavy burden on the national health care system because the consumption of medical and health resources of the old people is generally 3-5 times as much as that of the rest of the population [2]
Participants with the following characteristics or behaviors were more likely to have higher chronic diseases knowledge: younger age, female, Han Chinese, higher level of education, having health insurance, participating in societies, having family history of chronic diseases, frequently gathering with friends/relatives, usually going to provincial hospitals/hospitals affiliated with medical universities, usually going to municipal hospitals and usually going to community health center/station
Summary
A United Nations (UN) report showed that globally the population of older persons (aged 60 or over) is growing at a rate of 2.6% per year, considerably faster than the population as a whole (1.2%). This study was designed to evaluate the awareness rate of chronic diseases knowledge among people aged over 60 years, to explore its related factors and to provide evidence for future health education. Participants with the following characteristics or behaviors were more likely to have higher chronic diseases knowledge: younger age, female, Han Chinese, higher level of education, having health insurance, participating in societies, having family history of chronic diseases, frequently gathering with friends/relatives, usually going to provincial hospitals/hospitals affiliated with medical universities, usually going to municipal hospitals and usually going to community health center/station. The older people’s chronic diseases knowledge should be improved and health education programs should target males, older people with lower educational level, having no health insurance, having no family history of chronic diseases, participating in no societies, and less frequently gathering with friends/relatives. Lower level medical facilities should improve their skills of health education
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
