Holly C Gooding1, Courtney A Brown2, Anna C Revette3, Viola Vaccarino4, Jingyi Liu5, Sierra Patterson6, Catherine Stamoulis7, Sarah D de Ferranti8. 1. Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia. Electronic address: holly.c.gooding@emory.edu. 2. Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. 3. Division of Population Sciences, Survey and Data Management Core, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts. 4. Department of Epidemiology, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, Georgia. 5. Department of Medicine, Stanford Healthcare, Stanford, California. 6. Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia. 7. Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. 8. Department of Cardiology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Abstract
PURPOSE: Heart disease is the number one cause of death in women. Little is known about how adolescent and young adult women perceive their risk of heart disease. METHODS: We conducted eight online, semistructured focus groups with 35 young women aged 15-24 years recruited from two primary care practices in Boston, MA. Focus group discussion topics built upon data from a larger sample of women who completed the American Heart Association Women's Health Study survey. Topics included health concerns salient to young women, perceived susceptibility to heart disease, and barriers to heart-healthy behaviors. We used qualitative coding and thematic analyses to synthesize data. RESULTS: Participants were surprised to learn that heart disease is the leading cause of death in women. Young women discussed age ("I feel like those are things I associate with older people like 40"), gender ("I usually hear more about men suffering from heart problems than women"), and social norms ("we're so pressured just to grow up and [be] more focused on pregnancies or depression or our weight") as reasons for their low perceived risk for heart disease. Participants noted several barriers to adopting heart-healthy behaviors including stress, lack of time, and low perceived risk. "We just don't have time to worry about hearts. Especially if our hearts aren't bothering us to begin with and we can't see it." CONCLUSIONS: Perceptions of age, gender, and social norms contribute to low heart disease awareness among young women, which in turn may limit heart-healthy behaviors.
PURPOSE:Heart disease is the number one cause of death in women. Little is known about how adolescent and young adult women perceive their risk of heart disease. METHODS: We conducted eight online, semistructured focus groups with 35 young women aged 15-24 years recruited from two primary care practices in Boston, MA. Focus group discussion topics built upon data from a larger sample of women who completed the American Heart Association Women's Health Study survey. Topics included health concerns salient to young women, perceived susceptibility to heart disease, and barriers to heart-healthy behaviors. We used qualitative coding and thematic analyses to synthesize data. RESULTS:Participants were surprised to learn that heart disease is the leading cause of death in women. Young women discussed age ("I feel like those are things I associate with older people like 40"), gender ("I usually hear more about men suffering from heart problems than women"), and social norms ("we're so pressured just to grow up and [be] more focused on pregnancies or depression or our weight") as reasons for their low perceived risk for heart disease. Participants noted several barriers to adopting heart-healthy behaviors including stress, lack of time, and low perceived risk. "We just don't have time to worry about hearts. Especially if our hearts aren't bothering us to begin with and we can't see it." CONCLUSIONS: Perceptions of age, gender, and social norms contribute to low heart disease awareness among young women, which in turn may limit heart-healthy behaviors.
Authors: Sarah D de Ferranti; Angie Mae Rodday; Susan K Parsons; William L Cull; Karen G O'Connor; Stephen R Daniels; Laurel K Leslie Journal: J Pediatr Date: 2017-02-13 Impact factor: 4.406
Authors: Holly C Gooding; Courtney A Brown; Jingyi Liu; Anna C Revette; Catherine Stamoulis; Sarah D de Ferranti Journal: J Am Heart Assoc Date: 2019-03-19 Impact factor: 5.501