Health Protecting and Health Promoting Behaviors Among Preparatory School Students in Zagazig City

Abstract

Abstract:Background. Adolescents' lifestyle change can be facilitated through a combination of learning experiences that enhance awareness, increase motivation, and build skills. The aim of this study was to describe the health protecting and health promoting behaviors among preparatory school students in Zagazig city. This study was aimed to identify the most common health-related modified and non-modified behaviors and how they effect on wellness of the preparatory school students. Research design: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used to carry out the study. Setting: in a preparatory school in Kafr Mohamed Gawish at Zagazig city on 150 male and female students aged 12 to 15 recruited through stratified cluster random sampling. Tools: The data were collected using an interview questionnaire. →(Please, give some info regarding questionnaire; it is self-structured? Validated? Self-administrative? How is it scoring? Additionally, how the behavior was assessed? (Cut-off 60%). Tools: Two tools, the first tool (the data collection tool consisted of an interview questionnaire consisted two parts, socio-demographic characteristics, and medical history) and the second tool (a health promoting lifestyle questionnaire, in addition to a section asking students about the topics they suggest for personal growth. Results: The study results showed that approximately two thirds of adolescent preparatory school students from middle class families in rural areas had adequate total wellness behavior. The wellness behaviors' areas of most deficiency were those of exercise and mental activity, whereas the best areas were those of medication use, environmental, social, and spiritual aspects. Students' total wellness was significantly influenced by higher mother education, and lower crowding index, as well as the history of chronic diseases and previous surgery. Some of the wellness behavior aspects were also affected by students' age, gender, and father education. Conclusion and summary: Multivariate analysis identified → (Not in conclusion section) mother education as the only significant independent factor positively influencing adolescent's total wellness score. Students need to know more about topics related to nutrition, exercise, and anxiety. The wellness behaviors' areas of most deficiency are those of exercise and mental activity, whereas the best areas were those of medication use, environmental, social, and spiritual aspects. Recommendations: School health team should construct and implement special nutritional education intervention programs, promote physical exercise, and develop a hotline service for adolescents' health.