Health Profile of Faculty and Staff at the Adventist University of the Philippines: A Basis for Workplace Health Promotion

Abstract

This study determined the health profile of faculty and staff at the Adventist University of the Philippines. Using the descriptive research design, a total of 83 respondents participated in the study. Results of the descriptive analysis revealed an overall good health status of the respondents. There were however, few occurrences of poor health profile in terms of high systolic blood pressure (41%), high diastolic blood pressure (31.3%), low back pain (18.1%), asthma (10.8%) and sinusitis (7.2%). Additionally, 38.2% of respondents experienced anxiety and 19.7% experienced sleep disturbance. There was a difference in gender based on waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) finding. Based on the WHR results, more than half (56%) of the female respondents were at high risk (WHR ≥ 0.86) for cardiovascular diseases, while only 3% of the male counterparts had a moderate risk (WHR 0.96-1.0) for cardiovascular and other non-communicable diseases. In fact, none (0%) of the male respondents was at high risk for cardiovascular diseases. Amidst the few occurrences of poor health, the respondents experienced considerable life enjoyment and exhibited high priority for attaining their health goals. Respondents are therefore entreated to engage in healthy lifestyle practices (exercise, healthy eating and stress management), avail for regular check-ups and screenings and access medical services in order to prevent and/or control chronic lifestyle-related diseases.