KNOWLEDGE ABOUT RISK FACTORS OF CHRONIC NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES IN THE PILOT REGIONS OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Authors:   Federal Research Institute for Health Organization and Informatics of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia, Buzin Valery , Savchenko Ekaterina ,   Federal State Budgetary Institution National Medical Research Center for Therapy and Preventive Medicine of the Ministry of Healthсare of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia, Shelgunov Vladimir ,   Federal Research Institute for Health Organization and Informatics of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia
Published: June 2024

Significance. To date, there is a high prevalence of risk factors and insufficient awareness of their presence among the population. Identification of persons at risk and preventive counseling are the most important goals of public health. Knowledge of the regional profile of risk factors will provide for a targeted development of preventive programs with due regard to the identified features. The purpose of the study was to determine the current state of knowledge about risk factors of chronic non-communicable diseases in the pilot regions of the Russian Federation. Material and methods. A sociological survey was conducted in three pilot regions of the Russian Federation – the Tula Region, the Stavropol Territory and the Republic of Crimea, using a questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of 33 questions concerning prevention of chronic non-communicable diseases. The sample size equaled to 1,718 respondents. The results were processed in the statistical package SPSS 22.0. Results. Tobacco use, alcohol consumption, high blood sugar (glucose) and high blood pressure had the highest values in the assessment of risk factors. The lowest value was registered for low iodine levels in salt. The results show that the assessment of the impact of a risk factor on own health is significantly lower than abstract knowledge about harmful effects of this risk factor on health. The respondents considered low iodine levels in salt, alcohol consumption, excessive salt intake and smoking to be the least secure risk factors. The study confirms that alcohol consumption is generally considered by the population to be a less significant risk factor than smoking. It is important that only a little more than 20% of the population monitor their blood pressure on a regular basis. Knowledge of the blood glucose (sugar) level is mainly characteristic of women and people over 60 years. Women and people aged 40-59 regularly monitor their sugar intake. Control over this parameter is lower in older people. In relation to the norms of consumption of vegetables and fruit, the female population adheres to a higher level than men, but in general about 60% of the population correctly understand the need to consume an adequate amount of vegetables and fruit. Almost half of the population consider it a necessary norm to walk for at least 1 hour a day. In general, more than 60% of the population believe that they are not well-informed about risk factors. Conclusion. Knowledge about harmful effects of a risk factor does not necessarily result in application of this knowledge in relation to one's own health and behaviour changes. Knowledge about harmful effects of tobacco and alcohol use does not prevent the abuse. The motivation to smoke tobacco cannot be changed only by public awareness campaigns about harmful effects of this risk factor to health. Building awareness should be primarily focused on males. Planning public awareness campaigns, one should pay more attention to rural population. The promotion of iodized salt consumption among all population groups should be strengthened. Scope of application. Developing approaches to raising public awareness regarding prevention of chronic non-communicable diseases at the regional level.