Health behavior and health literacy among college students

Abstract

Lifestyle and health-conscious behavior have a decisive influence on an individual's state of health. However, health professionals are not only responsible for their own health, but they also have an indirect impact on those who they care for. Their decisions for their own health will be determined by their health literacy, and their understanding of health will also affect their future health promotion activities. The aim of our research is to examine the health behavior and understanding of our students and their correlations. Between September and October 2021, we conducted a quantitative, descriptive cross-sectional survey among students participating in health science training at the University of Szeged, with targeted sampling (n = 152). Data collection was online and completed voluntarily and anonymously. The data collection tool was a questionnaire composed of self-edited questions and validated question sets.  In addition to descriptive statistical analysis using IBM SPSS Version 25.00 software, a chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test, and Mann Whitney test were performed at a 95% confidence level (p <0.05). The majority of respondents (82.1%) have at least good subjective health, but only half of the sample participants (51%) exercise for at least 150 minutes per week. 43.7% of the participants consume fruit and 41.7% vegetables daily. One-third of them have an excellent understanding of health. Vegetable consumption is significantly affected by body shape (p = 0.001), and none of the obese eat vegetables at least once a day. First-graders consume a significantly higher proportion of fruit per day (p = 0.006), but consumption of sugary soft drinks is also more common among them (p = 0.033). It is more common in the lower age group (p = 0.027) to move enough. The health perception of nurses was significantly worse (p = 0.013). Our results on physical activity were certainly affected by the pandemic period, however, along with progress in studies, none of the factors related to health behaviors showed improvement. The workload of students in the upper grades is increasing, but it would be important to ensure that their lifestyles can improve as their knowledge expands.