Abstract
Objective:To determine healthy lifestyle behavior and affecting risk factors in workers at small and medium-sized enterprises from four different sectors in Aydin, Turkey.Methods:This cross-sectional study was conducted at four different small and medium-sized enterprises in Aydin, Turkey and 264 employees participated in the study. A questionnaire was used for data collection. It consisted of questions about socio-demographic features (age, gender, marital status, education, perceived income, occupation and having children), health status, and medical history, medication use, having occupational accidents and occupational health and safety. Healthy Lifestyle Behavior Scale, which was developed by Walker et al. in 1996, was used to evaluate healthy lifestyle behaviors of the workers.Results:The mean score for Healthy Lifestyle Behavior Scale was 135.46±22.49. Gender, marital status, perceived income, sector of workplace, title, presence of a chronic disease, finding oneself healthy in the previous year and having an occupational accident in the previous year did not significantly affect any subscales of Healthy Lifestyle Behavior Scale. The workers aged over 50 years had significantly higher scores for health responsibility than those aged 20-29 years (p<0.05). The workers living in a village got significantly higher scores for Healthy Lifestyle Behavior Scale and its subscales health responsibility, physical activity, nutrition and spiritual development than those living in a city (p<0.05).Conclusion:Although workers have good spiritual development, they may not adopt physical activity as a healthy lifestyle and that workers benefiting from occupational health and safety services can display healthy lifestyle behavior.
Highlights
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) greatly contribute to creation of job opportunities and high income; they are responsible for two-thirds of all jobs worldwide.[1]
Data were collected at face to face interviews with a questionnaire. It consisted of questions about sociodemographic features, health status, and medical history, medication use, having occupational accidents and occupational health and safety
Data about healthy lifestyle behavior were gathered with Healthy Lifestyle Behavior Scale II (HLSBS II), which was developed by Walker et al in 1996.12 The scale had been translated into Turkish and tested for its validity and reliability by Esin et al.[13]
Summary
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) greatly contribute to creation of job opportunities and high income; they are responsible for two-thirds of all jobs worldwide.[1]. It is necessary to create a healthy working environment and to encourage employees to acquire health behavior. Differences in culture and social structure affect health behavior.[5] Health promotion is a process which changes lifestyles and increases control of individuals over their health. Indicators of this process are health responsibility, physical activity, nutrition, spiritual development, interpersonal relationships and stress management.[6] As well as work hours and psychosocial factors, physical and chemical risks lead to chronic illnesses and can become barriers to a healthy lifestyle.[7] Workplaces are the most appropriate places for healthy lifestyle practices. Attempts to help employees to acquire a healthy lifestyle and to create a supportive environment should be undertaken together.[7]
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