Socio-demographic Factors and Eating Behaviours among Nurses in a Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Nurses are known as shift workers. Shift work can disrupt regular meal habits resulting in abnormal eating behaviour. Hence, this study aims to determine the relationship between socio-demographic factors and eating behaviour. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 135 nurses using a self-administered questionnaire. This study found that the shift duties factor was significantly associated with emotional and external eating behaviour. This might be caused by how nurses cope with the burden of shift works. Health promotion strategies from both individuals and organisations should be intensified for these nurses to enhance healthy eating habits and promote healthy lifestyles. Keywords: eating behaviour; shift duty; nurses eISSN: 2398-4287© 2021. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v6i18.3071