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Background: Taxi drivers are prone to developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors by adopting poor health behaviors due to their work environment. The population of Hispanic taxi drivers in inner city South Bronx, NYC, have not been studied. The goal of our qualitative study is to understand the perception, knowledge, behavior and barriers that influence CVD risk in overweight and obese inner-city Hispanic drivers.Methods: A cross-sectional qualitative study was conducted among community-based taxi drivers in South Bronx, NYC. Hispanic taxi drivers with body mass index of greater than 25 kg/m2 were screened and recruited for the study. Focus groups were organized to evaluate CVD and obesity risk factors through open-ended questions. The discussions were recorded, transcribed and analyzed using standard qualitative techniques. The Health Belief Model framework was applied to understand and evaluate likelihood of promoting health behaviors in this population based on the findings from the focus groups.Results: We conducted 3 focus groups (N = 25) and themes that emerged were evaluated. Through the Health Belief Model framework, Hispanic taxi driver participants reported demanding and stressful work shifts, barriers to better nutrition and good health, poor support systems, and low self-efficacy in overcoming barriers to improve their risk for CVD, due to lower perceived benefits and greater perceived barriers.Conclusions: Inner-city Hispanic NYC taxi drivers have several contributing factors and barriers leading to a poor CVD risk and high body weight profile. Understanding their knowledge, perception and barriers the drivers face in improving their CVD risk, underscores the importance of community outreach programs to develop a framework in empowering and improving the health of this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in the United States and in most European countries. Cardiovascular health, as defined by the American Heart Association, is comprised of seven health metrics (smoking, body mass index, physical activity, diet, total cholesterol, blood pressure, and fasting plasma glucose). No studies have compared US data with data collected elsewhere, using this index of cardiovascular healthMethods: We performed comparative analyses of cardiovascular health status in participants from 2 study sites in 2 different countries: the Maine-Syracuse Study, conducted in Central New York, USA in 2001-2006 (n=673), and the Observation of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Luxembourg, conducted in 2007-2009 (n=1145).Results: The Cardiovascular Health Score, the sum of the total number of metrics at ideal levels, was higher in the Luxembourg site than in the Central New York site. Ideal cardiovascular health levels for body mass index, smoking, physical activity, and diet were more prevalent in the Luxembourg site than the Central New York site. Ideal levels for blood pressure were more prevalent in Central New York. Differences between the two sites remained with control for age, gender and socioeconomic indicators.Conclusions: Cardiovascular health, as indexed by seven health metrics, was higher in the European study site than in the US study site. The largest differences were for the four lifestyle/behavior metrics, namely body mass index, smoking, physical activity, and diet. Preventative and intervention strategies will continue to be important for both countries in order to improve cardiovascular health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]