Community
Health Status
Indicators
M. C. Rice PhD APN BC,
M.N. Wicks PhD RN,
and
S.I. White-Means PhD
Background
• Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is responsible
for premature deaths and costly
hospitalizations in Memphis, TN.
• CVD ( heart disease and stroke) leading
causes of death
• Community Health Indicators –overview of
health status
Background
 Prevalence rate 27.3% for heart disease in
Memphis
 31.8% of blacks and 23.5% of whites report a
physician diagnosed them with heart disease
 Prevalence rate for 37.3%hypertension
 Overall, 40.9% HTN rate for blacks and 34.5% whites
Background
National estimated prevalence of CVD
is 6.6%, with little variability between
blacks and whites
Purpose of Assessment
Cardiovascular risks, depressive
symptoms, and quality of life health
indicators of 82 community residents
and congregants in the 38126 zip were used
to characterize health and health risk of the
target population.
Demographic Characteristics of
Residents an Congregants
• Sixty one percent of CHEER participants
were female and 39 were males.
• The majority of participants were
between 45 and 56 years of age.
• Twenty seven percent of CHEER
participants graduated from high school
and 27% had some college courses.
Methods and Procedures
 Health behaviors were evaluated using
a Health Risk Appraisal (HRA) survey.
 Depressive symptoms were measured
using the Center for Epidemiologic
Studies Depression Scale (CESD).
Summary of Results
 Health Factors Evaluated
 Health Problems Identified
Weight Results
 Thirty seven percent of the 81
participants had normal weight values
 Twenty six percent of participants were
in the over weight group and 37% were
obese.
Blood Pressure Results
Average Systolic Blood Pressure- 136.43
Average Diastolic Blood Pressure- 84.7
The average values of the blood pressures
of the 77 participants indicated that
hypertension was not a problem. These
values did, however, suggest that
participants were in the pre-hypertensive
category.
Cigarette Smoking Results
• Thirty (36%) of the 64 participants are
smokers.
• Forty one (34%) of participants
reported that they had never smoked
Blood Glucose and Cholesterol Levels
Average glucose and cholesterol values
indicated that diabetes nor high
cholesterol levels were not problems
problems in the majority of community or
congregant participants
Nutritional Intake Results
Sixty nine of the 80 CHEER participants
ate foods that were high in fiber and 74
reported that their diets contained foods
high in fat/cholesterol.
Physical Activity Results
Forty one of the 80 participants reported
that they exercised at least 3 days a
week. The other 39 participants exercise
1-2 days a week.
Depressive Symptoms
• Fifteen (10%) of the 68 participants had
mild distress, 10 (15%) reported
moderate distress, and 8 (12%) had
severe distress.
• Thirty (51%)participants indicated that
they had no depressive symptoms.
Life Satisfaction Results
• Fifty(63%) of 79 community residents
and congregants were satisfied with
their lives,
• 19(24%) were partially satisfied, and 10
(13%) were not satisfied with their
quality of lives.
Conclusions
Major health risk indicators include:
• Obesity
• Diets high in fat
• Lack of sufficient physical activity
• Smoking
Implications
Health indicators suggest that community
participants need health promotion
strategies to address nutrition, smoking
cessation, overweight/obesity, and
physical inactivity. Improving these risks
could reduce cardiovascular risk in this
population.