Correlating physical activity and quality of life of healthcare workers

Abstract

Objective The purpose of the present study was to investigate healthcare workers’ physical exercise levels linked to their quality of life. Healthcare workers’ from all departments of a General hospital participated in the study. The instruments used for data collection regarding quality of life and physical exercise (Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and International Physical Activity Questionnaire-short form). Results Regarding the lack of physical exercise, the participants mainly put the blame on lack of free time (58%, n = 106), work hours (41% n = 75), but also pure negligence (37%, n = 67). The SF-36 scores showed that the existence of health problems can affect in a negative way and aggravate almost every quality of life parameter. Regarding physical activities in the past 7 days prior to the survey, most of them were about housekeeping and household-related chores (42.3%), followed by out-of-the-house errands (13.2%). There were also differences among mental health and postgraduate education level. According to our findings, a major factor that could boost healthcare professionals’ physical activity, is to increase knowledge and raise awareness about the benefits linked to physical activity.

Health-Related Quality of Life of Health Professionals in a Tertiary Health Institution of Southwestern Nigeria: A Cross-Sectional Survey

“…This is different from the female majority reported in earlier studies (Guler and Kuzu 2009;Kumar et al, 2018) and may be attributed to involving only nurses and physicians in those studies whereas our study involved broader categories of health professionals. The gender difference in the HRQOL of the respondents in favour of male health professionals is consistent with previous studies (Tountas et al, 2007;Saridi et al, 2019). This seems to reflect the disadvantaged position of females in a male societal structure and working environment in several nations (Guler and Kuzu, 2009).…”

“…However, quite a number had postgraduate qualifications (14%), a proportion higher than 6.5% reported by Kumar et al, (2018). This translated to better HRQOL scores and better physical health of the respondents in our study, similar to the findings of Saridi et al, (2019). Health professionals at different grade levels had similar HRQOL although those in the highest grade level category had the best mental health.…”

Physical activity assessment and quality of life in nursing

“…(26) Observa-se que parte dos enfermeiros participantes trabalha em hospitais, o que pode impactar negativamente na saúde física e mental dos profissionais, sendo que o baixo nível de AF entre os profissionais de saúde está fortemente relacionado à fatores de impacto negativo na qualidade de vida. (27) Um estudo realizado em um hospital universitário nos EUA com diferentes profissionais, encontrou que os enfermeiros possuem um nível satisfatório de AF durante a jornada de trabalho, sugerindo que a intensidade física das tarefas do hospital é alta. (28) Entretanto, tais exigências físicas podem estar relacionadas a distúrbios osteomusculares em enfermeiros, com aumento significativo de risco quando associados à falta de AF.…”

Adaptation of Brunel Lifestyle Physical Activity Questionnaire into Turkish; The Validity and Reliability Study

“…Healthcare professionals constitute a group that is physically and mentally burdened. Work shifts, demanding tasks, and family issues make planning and performing physical exercise di cult for healthcare workers (15). A few studies have highlighted that health workers do not exercise enough but also have a high risk of unhealthy food intake, alcohol abuse, and occupational burnout (16,17).…”