Evaluation of risk factors knowledge level and disease perception of the individuals receiving a diagnosis of cardiovascular di̇sease

Due to the changing living conditions and aging of the population in the world and in our country, prevalence of non-communicable diseases are increasing. Cardiovascular diseases, which are in this group, are an important public health problem. Multiple risk factors are involved in the development of cardiovascular diseases. Determining the risk factors and disease perceptions of patients is important in providing realistic information in the practice of health professionals in the field and in the clinic. This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate risk factors, knowledge levels and disease perceptions of individuals diagnosed with cardiovascular disease. The sample of the study consisted of 200 patients with a diagnosis of cardiovascular disease, who were hospitalized in Pamukkale University Hospital Cardiovascular Surgery service between February and September 2021, and met the inclusion criteria of the study. The data of the study were collected using "Patient Information Form", "Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Knowledge Level " and "Sense of Disease Scale". Statistical analyzes of the study were made with the R statistics program. Statistical evaluation was made by using Kolmogorov Smirov test, Student t, Mann-Whitney U, Anova, Kruskal-Wallis tests, Bonferroni and Dunn-Bonferroni correction and Pearson correlation. The mean age of the patients participating in the study was 56.43±13.94. Of these patients, 82.5% were married, 60.5% were male, 55.5% had a chronic disease, and 62.5% had coronary heart disease. The mean score of Cardiovascular Diseases Risk Factors Knowledge Level was 11.51±6.28. According to the scores they got from the Sense of Disease Scale, the sub-dimension score averages were found as follows: disease type sub-dimension 4.13±2.80; emotional representations with the highest opinions about the disease were 25.03±4.32; In the Sense of Disease Scale probable causes dimension, the highest psychological attributions were 21.52±4.47. A positive and negative and significant weak relationship was found between both scales. In order to increase the level of knowledge of individuals diagnosed with cardiovascular disease, it is recommended that healthcare professionals continue effective education and information activities for the society, and more research on cardiovascular diseases in different parts of the society by providing psychosocial counseling to individuals. Keywords: Cardiovascular Diseases, Level of Knowledge, Disease Perception, Coronary Heart Disease, Nursing