Abstract
Reach of individuals at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) constitutes a major determinant of the population impact of preventive effort. This study compares three proactive recruitment strategies regarding their reach of individuals with CVD risk factors. Individuals aged 40-65years were invited to a two-stage cardio-preventive program including an on-site health screening and a cardiovascular examination program (CEP) using face-to-face recruitment in general practices (n=671), job centers (n=1049), and mail invitations from health insurance (n=894). The recruitment strategies were compared regarding the following: (1) participation rate; (2) participants' characteristics, i.e., socio-demographics, self-reported health, and CVD risk factors (smoking, physical activity, fruit/vegetable consumption, body mass index, blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein, triglycerides, and glycated hemoglobin); and (3) participation factors, i.e., differences between participants and non-participants. Screening participation rates were 56.0, 32.8, and 23.5% for the general practices, the job centers, and the health insurance, respectively. Among eligible individuals for the CEP, respectively, 80.3, 65.5, and 96.1% participated in the CEP. Job center clients showed the lowest socio-economic status and the most adverse CVD risk pattern. Being female predicted screening participation across all strategies (OR=1.45, 95% CI 1.07-1.98; OR=1.34, 95% CI 1.04-1.74; OR=1.62, 95% CI 1.16-2.27). Age predicted screening participation only within health insurance (OR=1.04, 95% CI 1.01-1.06). Within the general practices and the job centers, CEP participants were less likely to be smokers than non-participants (OR=0.49, 95% CI 0.26-0.94; OR=0.42, 95% CI 0.20-0.89). The recruitment in general practices yielded the highest reach. However, job centers may be useful to reduce health inequalities induced by social gradient.
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