Date Presented 04/21/2023
University students’ lifestyle behaviors may change for the better or worse as a result of several factors in their lives. Studying these behaviors would provide effective interventions to improve the lifestyle and health promotion of university students.
Primary Author and Speaker: Shaden Khalil Al-Matalka
Additional Authors and Speakers: Mohammad Nazzal, Ala'A F. Jaber
Contributing Authors: Shaden Khalil Al-Matalka, Mohammad Nazzal, Ala'A F. Jaber, Alaa Oteir, Mariam Abu-Alim
PURPOSE: University students may engage in a variety of health-risk behaviors that could be the main reason for disability and mortality. This study aims to evaluate the health-promoting lifestyle behaviors among Jordanian university students and identify the association between the health-promoting behaviors scores and the students’ characteristics. Determining health-promoting behaviors among university students provides helpful information for developing recommendations and interventions that encourage university students to adopt healthy behaviors, thus enhancing their well-being and health.
DESIGN: A cross-sectional descriptive design was conducted. Data collection has been conducted using an online survey methodology. The inclusion criteria encompassed university students who are enrolled in Jordanian universities. Students who did not complete the study questionnaire were excluded.
METHODS: The instrument used was the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP-II). Descriptive analysis was used for continuous variables, while frequencies and valid percentages were used to explain categorical variables. Person-correlation analyses were also used. If the p-value is less than 0.05, the results are statistically significant.
RESULTS: 1271 university students from different colleges and Jordanian universities participated in the study. The mean HPLP-II score of university students was 1.22 ± 0.44. Regarding the HPLP-II subscales, university students had the highest mean score in the spiritual growth domain, while the lowest mean score was for the physical activity domain. The HPLP-II score was not significantly associated with any of the students’ characteristics.
CONCLUSION: Jordanian university students have a poor level of health-promoting lifestyle behaviors. This indicates that the risk of illness among Jordanian university students is high. Thus, interventions to improve university students’ lifestyle behaviors and overall health are needed.
References
Matani, N., Nazzal, M. S., Devanprabudoss, J., & Aldiabat, K. (2021). Healthy lifestyle behaviors among Omani undergraduates: A cross-sectional study. International Journal of Health Promotion and Education, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/14635240.2021.2019602
Lee, R. L., & Loke, A. J. Y. (2005). Health-promoting behaviors and psychosocial well-being of university students in Hong Kong. Public Health Nursing, 22(3), 209–220. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0737-1209.2005.220304.x
Walker, S. N., Sechrist, K. R., & Pender, N. J. (1995). Health promotion model-instruments to measure health promoting lifestyle: Health-promoting lifestyle profile [HPLP II](Adult version).
