Effectiveness of a 5-year health empowerment programme on promoting cardiovascular health for adults from low-income families in Hong Kong

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a health empowerment programme (HEP) to enhance cardiovascular health for adults from low-income families. Methods: A prospective cohort study (N = 219, Intervention group: n = 103, comparison group: n = 116) was conducted with participants recruited from January 2013 to November 2015 and followed up until January 2022. Throughout the study duration, intervention group were invited to participate in the HEP. The cardiovascular health status of both groups at baseline and follow-up were assessed using the adapted Ideal Cardiovascular Health Index (ICHI) defined by the American Heart Association. After inverse propensity score weighting, multiple linear regression and Poisson regression were employed to examine the effects of the HEP. Results: The HEP was associated with a greater increase in ICHI total score (B = 0.33, p < 0.001), and the increase of proportion of people achieving a normal blood pressure (Incidence rate ratio: 3.39, p < 0.05). Conclusion: HEP can be an effective and sustainable strategy to reduce social disparities in cardiovascular health of adults from low-income families, as indicated by improvement in the ICHI total score and blood pressure status. Practical Implications: The sustainable HEP in the community setting has potential for generalizability and scalability to other financially challenged families.