Motives for attending cardiovascular health promotion events: An explorative analysis of the austrian “Heart Health Day”

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality. In Austria, the disease is responsible for nearly 36% of the total deaths in 2020. Continuous cardiovascular health promotion and disease prevention become increasingly important. Events might offer an effective way to foster such cardiovascular health promotion towards the entire family. However, this form of health promotion, including the motivation to participate in such health events, has not yet been the focus of literature. This study aims to provide first explorative insights into the attendance motivation of participants of cardiovascular health promotion events. Numerous authors state that the motivation to attend events is influenced by the demographic characteristics of the visitors. Therefore, the potential impact of attendees’ demographic characteristics is explicitly included in the methodological design of this study. A survey was distributed at the Austrian ‘Heart Health Day’ and completed by 117 attendees. Results reveal that for health promotion events the dimensions of topic and individual interest in the issue of heart health were the key motivations to attend the event. Social aspects were less important for this specific health event. The study confirmed a relation between the demographic factors age and marital status towards the motivational dimensions to attend the health promotion event. By providing first explorative empirical evidence on attendance motivation in a health care setting, this study contributes to a more profound understanding of cardiovascular health promotion. Findings may help managers of healthcare events to better understand attendance motivation and more strategically plan and manage this kind of events.