Rural Community Health in Nicaragua: Needs Assessment Results and Self-Reported Health Status

Chronic disease-related burden and deaths are increasingly worldwide. The Latin American country of Nicaragua is no exception. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in Nicaragua and health behaviors, such as sedentary lifestyle and tobacco use, can exacerbate risk associated with CVD. The aims of this study were to identify risk factors and health-promoting behaviors associated with CVD present in three rural communities in Nicaragua. Results from a needs assessment indicated that need assessments that utilize patient-reported outcome measures were feasible to conduct in rural Nicaragua communities, typical CVD risk factors were not prevalent in the rural communities we surveyed, and the overall good health of these communities reflects the perceived health status reported by participants. Findings of this study suggest that community health workers could consider hypertension and diabetes treatment, patient health information on nutrition, healthcare access, and healthy food access as potential target areas to improve community health in Nicaragua.