Declining Public Awareness of Heart Attack Warning Symptoms in the Years Following an Australian Public Awareness Campaign: A Cross-Sectional Study
Background: The National Heart Foundation of Australia's (NHFA) Warning Signs campaign ran between 2010 and 2013. This study examines trends in Australian adults’ ability to name heart attack symptoms during the campaign and in the years following. Methods: Using the NHFA's HeartWatch data...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2023
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1174838 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/93114 |
| _version_ | 1848765701674762240 |
|---|---|
| author | Bray, Janet Howell, S. Nehme, Z. Buttery, A. Stub, D. Cartledge, S. Finn, Judith |
| author_facet | Bray, Janet Howell, S. Nehme, Z. Buttery, A. Stub, D. Cartledge, S. Finn, Judith |
| author_sort | Bray, Janet |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Background: The National Heart Foundation of Australia's (NHFA) Warning Signs campaign ran between 2010 and 2013. This study examines trends in Australian adults’ ability to name heart attack symptoms during the campaign and in the years following. Methods: Using the NHFA's HeartWatch data (quarterly online surveys) for adults aged 30–59 years, we conducted an adjusted piecewise regression analysis comparing trends in the ability to name symptoms during the campaign period plus one year lag (2010–2014) to the post-campaign period (2015–2020) Results: Over the study period, there were 101,936 Australian adults surveyed. Symptom awareness was high or increased during the campaign period. However, there was a significant downward trend in each year following the campaign period for most symptoms (e.g., chest pain: adjusted odds ratio [AOR] =0.91, 95%CI: 0.56–0.80; arm pain: AOR=0.92, 95%CI: 0.90–0.94). Conversely, the inability to name any heart attack symptom increased in each year following the campaign (3.7% in 2010 to 19.9% in 2020; AOR=1.13, 95%CI: 1.10–1.15); these respondents were more likely to be younger, male, have less than 12 years of education, identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples, speak a language other than English at home and have no cardiovascular risk factors. Conclusion: Awareness of heart attack symptoms has decreased in the years since the Warning Signs campaign in Australia, with 1 in 5 adults currently unable to name a single heart attack symptom. New approaches are needed to promote and sustain this knowledge, and to ensure people act appropriately and promptly if symptoms occur. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:39:26Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-93114 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:39:26Z |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-931142023-09-19T00:45:09Z Declining Public Awareness of Heart Attack Warning Symptoms in the Years Following an Australian Public Awareness Campaign: A Cross-Sectional Study Bray, Janet Howell, S. Nehme, Z. Buttery, A. Stub, D. Cartledge, S. Finn, Judith Acute coronary syndrome Campaigns Education Surveys Adult Humans Male Australia Cross-Sectional Studies Myocardial Infarction Chest Pain Humans Myocardial Infarction Chest Pain Cross-Sectional Studies Adult Australia Male Background: The National Heart Foundation of Australia's (NHFA) Warning Signs campaign ran between 2010 and 2013. This study examines trends in Australian adults’ ability to name heart attack symptoms during the campaign and in the years following. Methods: Using the NHFA's HeartWatch data (quarterly online surveys) for adults aged 30–59 years, we conducted an adjusted piecewise regression analysis comparing trends in the ability to name symptoms during the campaign period plus one year lag (2010–2014) to the post-campaign period (2015–2020) Results: Over the study period, there were 101,936 Australian adults surveyed. Symptom awareness was high or increased during the campaign period. However, there was a significant downward trend in each year following the campaign period for most symptoms (e.g., chest pain: adjusted odds ratio [AOR] =0.91, 95%CI: 0.56–0.80; arm pain: AOR=0.92, 95%CI: 0.90–0.94). Conversely, the inability to name any heart attack symptom increased in each year following the campaign (3.7% in 2010 to 19.9% in 2020; AOR=1.13, 95%CI: 1.10–1.15); these respondents were more likely to be younger, male, have less than 12 years of education, identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples, speak a language other than English at home and have no cardiovascular risk factors. Conclusion: Awareness of heart attack symptoms has decreased in the years since the Warning Signs campaign in Australia, with 1 in 5 adults currently unable to name a single heart attack symptom. New approaches are needed to promote and sustain this knowledge, and to ensure people act appropriately and promptly if symptoms occur. 2023 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/93114 10.1016/j.hlc.2023.01.010 eng http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1174838 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Acute coronary syndrome Campaigns Education Surveys Adult Humans Male Australia Cross-Sectional Studies Myocardial Infarction Chest Pain Humans Myocardial Infarction Chest Pain Cross-Sectional Studies Adult Australia Male Bray, Janet Howell, S. Nehme, Z. Buttery, A. Stub, D. Cartledge, S. Finn, Judith Declining Public Awareness of Heart Attack Warning Symptoms in the Years Following an Australian Public Awareness Campaign: A Cross-Sectional Study |
| title | Declining Public Awareness of Heart Attack Warning Symptoms in the Years Following an Australian Public Awareness Campaign: A Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_full | Declining Public Awareness of Heart Attack Warning Symptoms in the Years Following an Australian Public Awareness Campaign: A Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_fullStr | Declining Public Awareness of Heart Attack Warning Symptoms in the Years Following an Australian Public Awareness Campaign: A Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Declining Public Awareness of Heart Attack Warning Symptoms in the Years Following an Australian Public Awareness Campaign: A Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_short | Declining Public Awareness of Heart Attack Warning Symptoms in the Years Following an Australian Public Awareness Campaign: A Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_sort | declining public awareness of heart attack warning symptoms in the years following an australian public awareness campaign: a cross-sectional study |
| topic | Acute coronary syndrome Campaigns Education Surveys Adult Humans Male Australia Cross-Sectional Studies Myocardial Infarction Chest Pain Humans Myocardial Infarction Chest Pain Cross-Sectional Studies Adult Australia Male |
| url | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1174838 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/93114 |