Cardiovascular health knowledge, attitude and practice among school-going adolescents and the availability of digital prerequisites for health education in Bhaktapur, Nepal.
<h4>Background</h4>In Nepal, the proportion of annual deaths from cardiovascular disease (CVD) increased from 12% in 1990 to 22% in 2021. Although CVD manifests in adulthood, exposure to risk factors begins early in life. In Nepal, a high prevalence of risk factors combined with limited...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2025-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0323698 |
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| Summary: | <h4>Background</h4>In Nepal, the proportion of annual deaths from cardiovascular disease (CVD) increased from 12% in 1990 to 22% in 2021. Although CVD manifests in adulthood, exposure to risk factors begins early in life. In Nepal, a high prevalence of risk factors combined with limited knowledge about cardiovascular health warrants a life course approach. One strategy could be a digitalized health education targeted at adolescents to prevent future CVDs.<h4>Methods</h4>We conducted a cross-sectional survey to assess adolescents' knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) regarding cardiovascular health and explored possibilities for digital education. In total, 649 adolescents in grades 8-10 from two public and seven private schools in a semi-urban community of Nepal were surveyed. A self-administered questionnaire assessed KAP, digital prerequisites such as mobile phone use and internet availability at home, and gaming behaviors. Quantile regression was performed to assess the relationship among the variables.<h4>Results</h4>The median scores were 69.1% (Interquartile range/IQR 63.1%-74.4%) for knowledge about cardiovascular health, 77.9% (73.3%-82.3%) for attitude and 76.7% (72.2%-81.1%) for practice. Quantile regression showed that the knowledge score for grade 9 adolescents was 4.2 percentage point (pp) higher (p < 0.001) and grade 10 adolescents was 4.0pp higher (p < 0.001) than those in grade 8. Knowledge was 4.9pp higher (p < 0.001) for private than for public school adolescents. Attitude scores were 2.0pp higher (p = 0.001) for girls than for boys and 1.7pp higher (p = 0.008) for private than for public school adolescents. For practice, boys scored 2.2pp higher (p < 0.001) than girls and private school adolescents scored 2.5pp higher (p < 0.001) than public. Furthermore, 98.6% of adolescents had smartphone access, 91.5% had internet access and 68.0% played mobile games.<h4>Conclusion</h4>Adolescents have lower knowledge than attitude and practice regarding cardiovascular health. This combined with high digital access provides opportunities for digital health education, especially in public schools. |
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| ISSN: | 1932-6203 |