RESUMO
Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality rates in the Czech Republic are among the highest in the industrialized world. Due to the substantial burden CVD plays on the health and well being of the Czech society, a variety of health promotion/disease management strategies to reduce CVD risk need to be designed and implemented. A project that combined community-based health education programs designed to address pervasive perceptions and cultural traditions that influence lifestyle factors, with secondary and tertiary prevention clinical strategies to aggressively treat high-risk individuals was recently conducted in Dubec, a small Czech community. This article describes the methods used in this project (i.e., the Healthy Dubec Project) which took American-based technology and experiences in community risk reduction methods and clinical management strategies for high risk patients and adapted them to fit the Czech people and their attitudes about CVD risk behaviors.
RESUMO
The project is a combination of individual and community-based intervention which adapted and modified methods and techniques originally used in The Three-City Community Study and The Stanford Five-City Project in a small community outside Prague. The goal is to reduce cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risk factors by primary and secondary prevention, using a community-based approach. 61.5% of examined population with the low risk score during the baseline survey was exposed to intervention by community-based methods. 38.5% of adult population was included in intervention activities within the framework of secondary prevention in high risk groups. There are described: the method of community oriented intervention and the intervention oriented on high risk groups - nutrition intervention, quit smoking activities, stress control, physical activity promotion.
