ASSESSMENT OF HEALTH PROMOTING LIFE STYLE BEHAVIORS AMONG SAUDI ARABIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Abstract

University students worldwide are sedentary and have unhealthy lives. As a result, the idea of health promoting universities was developed to address this issue. Despite its enormous impact on university students' health, the notion of health promoting institutions has not yet been properly explored internationally. The main purpose of the present study is to identify the level and factors associated with health promoting life style behaviors among Saudi Universities Students. a cross-sectional study was used to assess health promoting behaviors among nursing students in Saudi Arabia. Convenient sampling method was done on 727 participants. Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP) scale adopted from Walker et al. (1987) based on the Pender’s health-promoting model was used in the current study. Different statistical procedures were done to achieve the study objectives. The total mean score of health promoting behavior among study participants is 121.52±19.35. The highest mean score of health promoting behavior domain was observed in Spiritual growth (2.65± 0.50), while the lowest mean score was observed in Physical activity (1.90± 0.59). Results showed that there is no significant difference in the mean score of participants’ health promoting behavior with regards to their gender, age, income, marital status, level of study, smoking status (p>0.05). Health insurance showed significant association with health promoting behavior (p<0.05). This research demonstrates how having health insurance may effectively affect the health-promoting behaviors of nursing students. In order to assist university administrators and personnel in the development of strategies that are more efficient in fostering health-promoting habits among nursing students, the research offers recommendations.