Knowledge and Compliance with Preventive Measures of Cardiovascular Diseases among Health Workers in the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt

Introduction: This analytic descriptive study investigated knowledge and compliance with prevention measures of cardiovascular diseases among health workers in University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt.

Methodology: A sample of 608 health workers drawn from a population of 2500 health workers in University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital using simple random sampling technique participated in the study. Eleven research questions were answered and six hypotheses tested in the study. The instrument for data collection is Cardiovascular Disease Questionnaire. It was vetted by the supervisor and three other experts in health education. The reliability of the instrument established through pilot testing using Cronbach alpha method ranged rom 0.67 to 0.89.

Results: The results of the study revealed that; Health workers in University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital have knowledge of cardiovascular diseases, their signs and symptoms, have knowledge of general risk factors for developing cardiovascular disease, have knowledge of smoking, diet, stress and physical inactivity as risk factors for developing cardiovascular diseases. There is no compliance with cardiovascular disease prevention measures among health workers in University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. Gender and age have no influence on compliance with cardiovascular disease prevention measures while professional qualification influences compliance with cardiovascular disease prevention measures.

Conclusion: It was therefore recommended among others that health workers in University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital should check on regular basis their blood pressure, sugar and lipid level. They should show preference to healthy diets including fruits and vegetables and engage in periodic physical exercise.