Explanatory models of coronary heart disease among South Asian immigrants.

Objective: This study investigated South Asians' explanatory models (EM) of CHD and compared them to the biomedical model as part of an effort to inform the development of culturally targeted CHD prevention messages.

Methods: We conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews in English, Hindi and Urdu with 75 respondents from a federally qualified health center and at a community center for South Asian immigrants in Chicago, Illinois.

Results: While EMs of CHD included risk factors from the biomedical model, they also included psychosocial and spiritual risk factors.