title: Chronic diseases knowledge and related factors among the elderly in Jinan, China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It has been reported that the prevalence of chronic diseases is high among old people and they have poor chronic diseases knowledge. This study was therefore designed to evaluate the awareness rate of chronic diseases knowledge among people aged over 60 years, to explore its related factors and to provide evidence for future health education.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was conducted from April to August in 2011. People aged 60 years and above from 3 communities in Jinan were selected by cluster sampling. Nine hundred and twenty five participants were interviewed face-to-face using a structured questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The awareness rates of chronic diseases knowledge varied from 29.5% to 90.2%. Four healthy lifestyles including quitting smoking and less drinking, keeping broad-minded, maintaining balanced diet and moderate physical activity were best known (from 86.3% to 90.2%). The least known knowledge were 2 complications of hypertension: nephropathy (29.5%) and retinopathy (37.2%). Participants with the following characteristics or behaviors were more likely to have higher chronic diseases knowledge: younger age, female, Han Chinese, higher level of education, having health insurance, participating in societies, having family history of chronic diseases, frequently gathering with friends/relatives, usually going to provincial hospitals/hospitals affiliated with medical universities, usually going to municipal hospitals and usually going to community health center/station.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Old people in Jinan had incomplete chronic diseases knowledge and the overall awareness rate was not high. The older people's chronic diseases knowledge should be improved and health education programs should target males, older people with lower educational level, having no health insurance, having no family history of chronic diseases, participating in no societies, and less frequently gathering with friends/relatives. Also, lower level medical facilities should improve their skills of health education.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Yapei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Xiangren
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.forename: Shumei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiaojie
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Jiming
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Shukang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Chunmei
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Bingyin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zhijian
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Gifty
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Marley
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002681:China; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003469:Culture; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006184:Habits; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis