COMMUNITY-BASED INTERVENTION - THE CORONARY RISK FACTOR STUDY (CORIS)

The Coronary Risk Factor Study (CORIS) examined the feasibility and ef fectiveness of a multifactorial community intervention programme to re duce coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factor levels. Three Afrikaner communities were surveyed before and after a 4-year intervention in tw o of the communities, the third serving as a control (C). Intervention was primarily by small mass media (low-intensity intervention, LII) o r by small mass media plus interpersonal intervention to high-risk ind ividuals (high-intensity intervention, HII). After allowing for change in C, significant net reductions in blood pressure, smoking, and risk score were obtained in LII and HII alike. Though the total cholestero l (TC) fell by 10-12%, there was no net reduction in favour of the int ervention communities. However, LII and HII resulted in significant in creases in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels and HDL -C/TC ratios in comparison to C. Overall, the LII community fared almo st as well as the HII community, and high-risk individuals did not sho w a greater change in risk factors than others. We conclude that commu nity-based intervention works, and that in these particular communitie s a media-based health education programme was more cost-effective tha n one which adds a greater degree of interpersonal intervention.