Assessing and Promoting Cardiovascular Health for Adolescent Women: A User-Centered Design Approach (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one cause of death in women in the United States. Awareness of CVD and its risk factors are critical to reversing this trend. OBJECTIVE This project aimed to assess CVD awareness among adolescent and young adult women and develop a lifestyle-based cardiovascular risk assessment tool for use with this population. METHODS This study used a 3-phase iterative design process with young women from primary care and reproductive care clinics in Atlanta, Georgia. In Phase 1, we administered a modified version of the American Heart Association Women’s Health Survey to young women ages 15-24 (n=67) to assess their general CVD awareness. In Phase 2, we interviewed young women ages 13-21 (n=10) and healthcare practitioners (n=10) to solicit suggestions for adapting an existing adult cardiovascular risk assessment tool for this age group. In Phase 3, we employed an iterative user-centered design process to collect feedback from approximately 105 young women as we adapted the adult tool. RESULTS Only 10.5% (n=7) of young women surveyed correctly identified CVD as the leading cause of death among women in the US. Few respondents reported having discussed their personal risk (6%, n=4) or family history of CVD (11.9%, n=8) with a healthcare provider. Young women demonstrated increased CVD awareness and knowledge after completing the adult risk assessment tool and suggested making the tool more teen-friendly by incorporating relevant foods and activity options. The result of the iterative design process was a youth friendly prototype of a CVD risk assessment tool. CONCLUSIONS Adolescent and young adult women demonstrate low awareness of CVD. This study illustrates the potential value of a CVD risk assessment tool adapted for use with young women and showcases the importance of user-centered design when creating digital health interventions.