Background Inadequate CVD knowledge has been cited to account for the imperfect decline in CVD among women over 2 decades. Hypothesis Due to concerns that at-risk women might not know the leading cause of death or symptoms of a heart attack, our goal was to assess the relationship between CVD knowledge race/ethnicity, education and BMI. Methods Using a structured questionnaire, CVD knowledge, socio-demographics, risk factors, and body mass index(BMI) were evaluated in 681 women. Results Participants included Hispanic, 42.1 %(n=287); non-Hispanic white(NHW) 40.2% (n=274); non-Hispanic black(NHB) 7.3% (n=50) and Asian/Pacific Islander(A/PI) 8.7% (n=59). Average BMI was 26.3±6.1 kg/m2. Hypertension was more frequent among overweight (45%) and obese (62%) than normal weight (24%), p<0.0001; elevated total cholesterol was more frequent among overweight (41%), and obese (44%) than normal weight (30%) (p<0.05 and p<0.01 respectively); and diabetes was more frequent among obese (25%) than normal weight (5%) (p<0.0001). Knowledge of the leading cause of death and symptoms of a heart attack varied by race/ethnicity and education (p<0.001), but not BMI. Concerning the leading cause of death among US women: 87.6% (240/274) NHW answered correctly compared to 64% (32/50) NHB (p<0.05); 28.3% (80/283) Hispanics (p<0.0001) and 55.9% (33/59) A/PI (p<0.001). Among participants with ≤ 12 years of education, 21.2% knew the leading cause of death and 49.3% heart attack symptoms vs. 75.7% and 75.5%, respectively for > 12 years (both p <0 .0001). Conclusions Effective prevention strategies for at-risk populations need to escalate CVD knowledge and awareness among the under-educated and minority women.

Patients' satisfaction has become a central concept in quality assurance. Despite progress in research in this area is still a lack of data for geriatric patients. Referring to the consumer model, satisfaction can be described as a difference between expectations and assessed performance. The aim of this study is to analyze satisfaction among geriatric patients in an in-patient setting. A personal interview was performed 1-2 days before discharge. Patients suffering for dementia or with problems to communicate were excluded. 124 of 268 geriatric patients who were discharged in 2003 were included (inclusion rate 46.3%). 119 were willing to participate (response rate 96.0%). Respondents were between 61 and 96 years old, 39% were male and 42% had serious functional limitations at time of admission. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed three significant predictors of a combined index of satisfaction and expectations: a) quality of hotel services; b) experience of neglect; c) provision of medical information and skills. In summary, standardized personal questionnaires can provide valid and reliable data of geriatric patients. Satisfaction of elderly patients is negatively affected by neglect and positively influenced by provision of medical information and a good hotel services.

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