Journal article
Absolute risk representation in cardiovascular disease prevention: Comprehension and preferences of health care consumers and general practitioners involved in a focus group study
S Hill, J Spink, D Cadilhac, A Edwards, C Kaufman, S Rogers, R Ryan, A Tonkin
BMC Public Health | Published : 2010
Abstract
Background. Communicating risk is part of primary prevention of coronary heart disease and stroke, collectively referred to as cardiovascular disease (CVD). In Australia, health organisations have promoted an absolute risk approach, thereby raising the question of suitable standardised formats for risk communication. Methods. Sixteen formats of risk representation were prepared including statements, icons, graphical formats, alone or in combination, and with variable use of colours. All presented the same risk, i.e., the absolute risk for a 55 year old woman, 16% risk of CVD in five years. Preferences for a five or ten-year timeframe were explored. Australian GPs and consumers were recruited..
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Funding Acknowledgements
The research was funded by the Australian Department of Health and Ageing. Officers of the Department attended the workshop in Stage (i) but had no input into the final selection of formats. Funding supported the development of the formats by Ms Sophie Rogers and the position of Dr Janet Spink for the collection and analysis of data. The authors gratefully acknowledge the BMJ Publishing Group Limited and Dr Aroon Hingorani and Professor Patrick Vallance for permission to reproduce a figure adapted from 'A simple computer program for guiding management of cardiovascular risk factors and prescribing', BMJ 318, 101105, 1999. The authors gratefully acknowledge Associate Professor Michael Pignone and Dr Stacey Sheridan for permission to reproduce figures adapted from their Heart to Heart risk assessment tool, http://www.meddecisions.com. The authors gratefully acknowledge Wolters Kluwer and lead author Professor John McNeil for permission to reproduce a figure adapted from 'A model for predicting the future incidence of coronary heart disease within percentiles of coronary heart disease risk', J Cardiovasc Risk 8, 31-37, 2001.