Health Promoting Behavior and Perceived Health Status of Nursing College Students: A Longitudinal Study

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate changes in health promoting life style and weight control behavior among nursing students during their two years of college, and to identify the relationship between the changes and their perceived health status. Methods: The subjects were 264 female students in a three-year nursing college in Seoul, Korea. Data was analyzed by paired t-test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and multiple logistic regression using SPSS ver.21. Results: Of the six sub-categories regarding health promoting life style, five except spiritual growth showed improvement after two years, but their perceived health status did not change significantly. The number of students who engaged in weight control behavior increased, but there was no change in the number of students who engaged both in weight control and in diet. The group which recorded high scores in perceived mental health status showed 1.2 times greater positive changes in health promoting lifestyle (OR=1.202, p=.023). Conclusion: The results showed although health promoting behavior changed positively throughout the nursing curriculum, physical activities were still low and few students used constructive methods to control their weight. Therefore, it is recommended that nursing colleges build specific programs into their curriculum to correct students' undesirable health promoting behavior.