This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Weinehall, L. Articles by Wall, S. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Weinehall, L. Articles by Wall, S. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Can a sustainable community intervention reduce the health gap? -10-Year evaluation of a Swedish community intervention program for the prevention of cardiovascular disease

Epidemiology, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, UmeÅ University, UmeÅ, Sweden, Lars.Weinehall{at}epiph.umu.se

Gideon Hellsten

Norsjö Primary Health Care Centre, Norsjö, Sweden

Kurt Boman

Epidemiology, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, UmeÅ University, UmeÅ, Sweden, Department of Medicine, SkellefteÅ County Hospital, SkellefteÅ, Sweden

Göran Hallmans

Nutritional Research, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, UmeÅ University, UmeÅ, Sweden

Kjell Asplund

Internal Medicine, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, UmeÅ University, UmeÅ, Sweden

Stig Wall

Epidemiology, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, UmeÅ University, UmeÅ, Sweden

Objectives: This paper evaluates the 10-year outcomes of a Northern Sweden community intervention program for the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD), with special reference to the social patterning of risk development.

Methods: Using a quasi-experimental design, trends in risk factors and predicted mortality in an intervention area (Norsjö municipality) are compared with those in a reference area (Northern Sweden region) by repeated independent cross-sectional surveys.

Results: There were significant differences in changes in total cholesterol level and systolic blood pressure between the intervention and reference populations. The predicted coronary heart disease mortality (based on the North Karelia risk equation), after adjustment for age and education, was reduced by 36% in the interventionarea and by 1 % in the reference area.

Conclusions: We conclude that a long-term community-based CVD prevention program which combines population and individual strategies can substantially promote a health shift in CVD risk in a high risk rural population. When evaluated for different social strata, we found no signs of an increasing health gap between socially privileged and less privileged groups. Socially less-privileged groups benefited the most from the present prevention program.

Key Words: cardiovascular disease • community intervention • health promotion • prevention • primary health care • social factors.

Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, Vol. 29, No. 56 suppl, 59-68 (2001)
DOI: 10.1177/14034948010290021901


CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Golsater, K. Enskar, H. Lingfors, and B. Sidenvall Health counselling: parental-oriented health dialogue -- an innovation for child health nurses J Child Health Care, March 1, 2009; 13(1): 75 - 88. [Abstract] [PDF]

				T.A. Pearson, S. Wall, C. Lewis, P.L. Jenkins, A. Nafziger, and L. Weinehall Dissecting the ``black box' ' of community intervention: Lessons from community-wide cardiovascular disease prevention programs in the US and Sweden Scand J Public Health, June 1, 2001; 29(56_suppl): 69 - 78. [PDF]