Barriers perceived to assume promoting health conduct in university students

Abstract

There are several studies on health behaviors, whose results show a predominance of unhealthy lifestyles, despite the fact that the population manages to identify the importance of them does not present them in their daily life; The question then arises of what are the barriers to not presenting healthy behaviors. The present study aims to identify perceived barriers to assume health promoting behavior in students of a Chilean University, according to the Nola Pender Health Promotion Model. Study of quantitative approach, of descriptive design, cross-sectional correlation, with sample of 320 students, selected by sampling of random probabilistic type. The data collection instrument is made up of: Scale of benefits and barriers of Exercise, Scale of barriers of healthy eating, Scale of perception of self-efficacy, Scale of self-esteem and a sociodemographic questionnaire. The data was processed with the SPSS-22 program to obtain descriptive and inferential statistics. As results, it was obtained that despite the educational level or belonging to a certain university career, the students showed poor or lower health promoting behaviors than expected; These low health-promoting behaviors are associated with perceived barriers in the nutritional field and physical activity. In addition, self-esteem and the perception of self-efficacy turned out to be predictors of the presence of barriers in health in an inverse manner, that is, to lower self-esteem or self-efficacy, greater presence of barriers to assume health-promoting behaviors.