PUTTING KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE INTO PRACTICE– A HUGE CHALLENGE!

Objective: To study knowledge, attitude, practice and behavior about CVD in collegeand university students of Peshawar. Methodology: This cross sectional study was conducted in colleges and universitystudents from October 2015 to May 2016. A questionnaire based on WHO stepwiseapproach to surveillance was used to study the understanding of knowledge, attitudeand practice/behavior towards cardiovascular health and barriers to healthy practicesbesides demographic data. The questionnaires were distributed among studentsthrough administration of the institute. Data was analyzed using SPSS 16. Results: A total of 618 participants were included. The response rate was 61.8%.Among these, 43.5 % were males. Mean age of students was 20.58 ± 2.16 years.Knowledge of risk factors of CVD was documented as high blood pressure 77.2%,diabetes 34.3%, high cholesterol 77.5%, physical inactivity 41.1%,overweight 66.7%,44.3% smoking 44.3%, mental stress 57%. Of respondents 69.9% knew pain in chestas a major heart attack warning sign. Respondents familiar with one sign of heart attackwere 50%, two signs 37%, three signs 11.42%, four signs 2.5%. Consumption of morefruits and vegetables and exercise can prevent heart disease was known to 85.1%and82.1% respectively. As regarding practice, 59.5% of the respondents had their bloodpressure measured, 75% took healthy food and reduced their consumption of unhealthyfoods, 44.2% tried to lose weight, 67.5% tried to increase physical activity, 50% ofsmokers said that they had attempted to quit smoking. Conclusion: College students had satisfactory knowledge of CVD, its risk factors,warning signs, heart healthy diet and physical activity. However, knowledge has to beput into practice to create positive attitude and good practice. Key Words: CVD, KAP study, Risk factors, Prevention