Current Status of Physical Activity of Nursing Students and Related Factors in Vietnam

• Main Authors: Kieu Thi Phuong Thao, 喬氏芳草
• Other Authors: Hsin-Chia Hung
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2014
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/758k8t

碩士 === 美和科技大學 === 健康照護研究所 === 102 === Background: Physical inactivity (PI) is a global health problem and becomes more popular nowadays. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the PI lifestyle accounts for 3.3% of deaths and diseases all over the world (WHO, 2012). However, prevalence of PI, health beliefs, and knowledge of the risks of PI has rarely been assessed across a wide range of developed and developing countries. Nursing students as well as medical students in general are provided with knowledge and benefits of physical activity (PA); therefore, these students will be role models in educating the patients that they will care for in order to improve PA. Purpose: Determine the duration and intensity of PA while working, transport, and recreation in nursing students. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 384 students selected from a university by random systemic sampling method. The socio - demographic characteristic, anthropometric indices, time, as well as intensity of PA while working, transport and recreation were collected. Time and level of PA are measured by Global Physical Activities Questionnaire version 2 (GPAQv2) (WHO, 2014a). Rate of students having insufficient PA according to recommendations of WHO and factors related to this rate were determined. Collected data was analyzed based on the guidelines for analysis PA questionnaire of WHO (WHO, 2014a). Results: The rate of sufficient PA based on WHO recommendations in participated students is 76.0%. Male students have a higher rate of sufficient PA than female students. The average time of students spent on PA during working is 107 minutes, 30 minutes for transport and 43 minutes in recreation time. The time of PA is associated with the school year and the educational level. The rate of insufficient PA is correlated to school year. The duration of PA is also correlated to the students’ gender. Conclusion: There is still about a quarter of these students having insufficient PA. Sedentary time in students remains high which can bring bad influences to health. From the results obtained in the study, there are some recommendations for the school board as well as healthcare workers in general.