Health Research

This research aims to explore the level of awareness and knowledge of people regarding coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors and develop strategies for prevention and control of CHD. It will assess the relationship between health literacy and self-management skills of people at risk of CHD, identify factors influencing knowledge about CHD, and understand attitudes and practices towards prevention and control of CHD. The research will use a self-administered questionnaire and analyze the data using statistical analysis. The findings will be disseminated in healthcare institutions and clinics to improve awareness and develop effective preventive methods.

Running head: HEALTH RESEARCH
Health research
Name of the student:
Name of the University:
Author’s note

1HEALTH RESEARCH
Background information:
Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a chronic disease condition associated with narrowing
of the coronary artery, the blood vessel that supplies oxygen and blood to the heart and reduction
in blood flow to the heart because of plaque build-up. The risk of CHD is mainly increasing in
developing and transitional countries and the burden of the disease is estimated from the fact that
the prevalence of CHD is going to increase to 82 million DALY (Disability-adjusted life year) in
2020 compared to 47 million in 1990 (World Health Organization, 2018). The main reason
behind increase in risk of CHD in developed countries includes impact of lifestyle changes,
urbanization and increasing longevity. In case of Australia, about 6, 43, 000 adults were
diagnosed with CHD in 2014-2015 and it was mainly caused by preventable risk factors like
poor nutrition, obesity, smoking, physical inactivity and high blood cholesterol level (Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare 2016).
Mosleh and Almalik (2016) suggest that prevention of CHD is dependent on patient’s
understanding about the condition, risk factors and benefits of lifestyle modification. As patients
diagnosed with diabetes are expected to adopt healthy behaviour and adhere to prescribed
medications, exploring patient’s illness perception and belief is important. Evaluation illness
perception is also importance to predict patient’s capacity to cope and develop interventions to
promote self-management in chronic disease. Another advantage of exploring health perception
and beliefs is that it may help to self-efficacy and confidence of people in managing their own
health state (Kale et al., 2015). Hence, unawareness of the risk factors of CHD and poor health
behaviour is the main cause behind CHD. Investigation of the level of knowledge in people
about CHD may help to understand type of education needed by people and implement
appropriate preventive step to control rate of CHD.

2HEALTH RESEARCH
Main outcome:
It is expected to achieve the following outcomes by conducting research on the topic:
 Get information on level of awareness and knowledge of people regarding CHD risk
factors
 Find relation between health literacy and self-management skills of people at risk of
CHD
 develop understanding the factors that influence knowledge in people in relation to CHD
 Understand the attitudes and practice of people towards prevention and control of CHD.
 Identify techniques to provide education to prevent and manage CHD
Evaluation:
The participant response based on self-administered questionnaire with close ended
questions will be analyzed by entering the data into Statistical Packages for Social Sciences
(SPSS). The category wise data in relation to knowledge, attitude and preventive practice will be
summarized using frequencies and percentage. The evaluation of the outcome will be done based
on comparison and link between each outcome, assessment of biases and confounding factors on
research outcome and evaluation of research design.
Dissemination:
After the research conducted is approved by relevant Research Council, it is planned to
disseminate the outcome of the research in health care institutions, health promotion clinics and
preventive clinics. The dissemination of data related to participant’s response will ensure that
staffs become aware about the level of awareness about CHD in people and use this approach in

3HEALTH RESEARCH
community setting to design effective preventive methods to control the disease. The data can be
used to target appropriate strategies to develop health literacy and increase adherence to lifestyle
intervention for prevention of CHD. The dissemination of data related to practices and attitude of
people towards CHD will help to interpret whether people seek the right service for cure or the
inclusion of health professional staff is important to provide them proper direction regarding
lifestyle changes.

4HEALTH RESEARCH
References:
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2016. Australia’s health 2016. Retrieved from:
https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/2a44d779-bff1-4302-b129-f515e7b07842/ah16-3-5-
coronary-heart-disease.pdf.aspx
Kale, M. S., Federman, A. D., Krauskopf, K., Wolf, M., O’Conor, R., Martynenko, M., ... &
Wisnivesky, J. P. (2015). The association of health literacy with illness and medication
beliefs among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. PLoS One, 10(4),
e0123937.
Mosleh, S. M., & Almalik, M. M. (2016). Illness perception and adherence to healthy behaviour
in Jordanian coronary heart disease patients. European Journal of Cardiovascular
Nursing, 15(4), 223-230.
World Health Organization (2018). Global burden of coronary heart disease. Retrieved from:
https://www.who.int/cardiovascular_diseases/en/cvd_atlas_13_coronaryHD.pdf?ua=1