Knowledge of peripheral arterial disease: Results of an intervention to measure and improve PAD knowledge in Toronto
Abstract
Background: Prevalence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) has dramatically increased in both developing, as well as developed countries. However, significant knowledge and practice gaps persist. In Canada, efforts to improve this knowledge level are lacking. In this study, we examine PAD knowledge in Toronto, and evaluate a pilot intervention to address the knowledge gaps. Objectives: Measure PAD awareness in Toronto, and evaluate an intervention to improve PAD knowledge among the public. Methods: In the context of a community-based awareness campaign, an interview-based survey was used to assess the PAD awareness among general public. A sample of participants was split into two arms: control (survey only) and intervention (survey and education pamphlet), the choice between assigning the site as case or control was random. A follow-up telephone and email-based survey was conducted after 6 weeks to assess the attained knowledge level of PAD. Results: Two hundred thirty-seven participants completed the baseline survey. One hundred eighty-eight participants (78.7%) had never heard of PAD. The remaining “PAD-aware” cohort had low overall knowledge of the disease characteristics. Participants from each arm completed the follow-up survey. The level of education, age, and gender were not predictors of knowledge scores; however, age was a predictor of PAD awareness, while gender and level of education were not. Participants in the intervention group showed significant knowledge scores improvement in five PAD domains, while those from control group showed significant improvement in their preventative measures, treatment modalities, and total scores. The impact of the study intervention on average scores was borderline not significant ( p = 0.05). Conclusion: PAD knowledge gap in the Canadian public is larger than what was previously reported. Educational campaigns are necessary to address this gap and improve the outcome of PAD patients through patients' activation. Our results are encouraging and warrant a next intervention to explore an educational program impact on PAD knowledge.
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Online communities have been proven effective in knowledge dissemination, health monitoring, self-management of health conditions, and chronic disease management.
“They have been proven to be effective in knowledge dissemination [34], health monitoring [35], self-management of health conditions [36] and chronic disease management [37].”
From Effectiveness of online mindfulness interventions on medical students’ mental health: a systematic review (2021) · cites this paper as [34]
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- Authors
- El Morr, C., AlHamzah, M., Ng, P., Purewal, A., & Al-Omran, M.
- Affiliations
- School of Health Policy and Management, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
- University of Toronto (CA)
- York University (CA)
- St. Michael's Hospital (CA)
- Venue
- Vascular
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2017-01-25
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 479-487
- ISSN
- 1708-5381 (ISSN-L)
- 1708-539X
- OpenAlex
- W2580492333
- Cited by
- 23
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 4
- FWCI
- 1.69
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Vascular (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Peripheral Artery Disease Management
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Public Health Policies and Education
- Keywords
- peripheral arterial disease, public awareness, health knowledge gaps, health education intervention, educational pamphlets, patient activation, disease prevention, Toronto
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Age Factors, Awareness, Female, Health Education, Health Promotion, Humans, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Male, Middle Aged, Ontario, Pamphlets, Pilot Projects, Public Opinion, Surveys and Questionnaires, Comprehension, Young Adult, Health Literacy, Peripheral Arterial Disease
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