title: Opinions regarding the effectiveness of non-pharmacological measures in prevention of cardiovascular disease in the Czech Republic.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Cardiovascular diseases are the most common cause of deaths. Cardiovascular mortality is influenced by several factors that can be changed by our behaviour. The goal of this study was to survey the opinions of physicians and nurses on the topic of preventative cardiovascular risk factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  The inquiry was carried out using a standardized structured interviewer-respondent interview (face-to-face). The final form of the interview was based on the results of a pre-investigation. The study was anonymous, participation was voluntary, and the actual interview did not contain any controversial ethical questions. To meet these goals, a non-standardized questionnaire for nurses and physicians was developed. The questions evaluated the interest, coping difficulties, and efficiency of multimodal interventions in practice. The study sample included 1000 physicians and 1000 nurses. The results were statistically evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The survey of physician and nurse opinions showed that patients were primarily interested in interventions in the area of nutrition, weight loss, and coping with pharmacotherapy; however, the overall lack of interest in smoking cessation was a surprising result. Physicians and nurses viewed smoking cessation as the most difficult risk factors to influence, followed by nutrition changes, and weight loss. It was noteworthy that more than half of the interviewed physicians and nurses were of the opinion that behavioral interventions were only sometimes or rarely effective.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of our study show that nurses and physicians largely agree on behavioral risk factors and how to influence them. Nurses and physicians in Czech health care generally agree that patients are interested in influencing the above risk factors, being least interested in exercise and smoking cessation. Nurses and physicians also consider smoking reduction and weight loss as particularly difficult risk factors to manage. Results from this study will contributed to the overall goal of preparing and implementing short-term and long-term interventions in preventive cardiology.
authors.affiliation: University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Institute of Nursing, Midwifery and Emergency Care, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Lenka
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Šedová
authors.affiliation: University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Institute of Nursing, Midwifery and Emergency Care, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Valérie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tóthová
authors.affiliation: University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Institute of Nursing, Midwifery and Emergency Care, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Věra
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Olišarová
authors.affiliation: University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Institute of Nursing, Midwifery and Emergency Care, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Sylva
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bártlová
authors.affiliation: University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Institute of Nursing, Midwifery and Emergency Care, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Chloubová
authors.affiliation: University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Institute of Nursing, Midwifery and Emergency Care, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Michálková
authors.affiliation: University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Institute of Humanities in Nursing Professions, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Radka
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Prokešová
authors.affiliation: University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Institute of Nursing, Midwifery and Emergency Care, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Treslova
authors.affiliation: Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Preventive Cardiology Department, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Vera
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Adámkova
mesh_terms: D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D018153:Czech Republic; D006801:Humans; D009726:Nurses / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010820:Physicians / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012307:Risk Factors; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015431:Weight Loss