Concerns and Misconceptions about Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors: A Focus Group Evaluation with Low-Income Hispanic Women

Abstract

Fivefocus groups were conducted with Hispanic women (primarily of Mexican American heritage) from low-income neighborhoods in San Jose, California, to learn about their knowledge of cardiovascular disease (CVD) riskfactors, the relative importance of risk factors, and ideas about effective CVD risk-reduction programs. Despite language barriers and economic disadvantages, women were highly aware of heart disease and described it as a health priority. However, they articulated many misconceptions about CVD and experienced multiple barriers to healthy lifestyles. The most frequently mentioned risk factor was poor nutrition, especially high dietary fat (mentioned 543 times). The next most frequently mentioned risk factors were physical inactivity (127 times), obesity (86 times), and smoking (78 times). Few women viewed CVD as a progressive, chronic process; few associated obesity with heart disease; andfew emphasized the importance of hypertension and diabetes as primary CVD risk factors.