Differences in health promoting lifestyle behavior of health management students based upon early diagnosis coverage in a cancer course

Abstract

Background: This is a descriptive study to determine whether coursework that is focused on early diagnosis in cancer makes a difference in self-reported health promoting lifestyle behavior of students who study health management. Materials and Methods: The population of the study consisted of a sample of 104 students enrolled in the Department of Health Management at the Faculty of Health in Kirikkale University in Turkey. Fortyeight students enrolled in a course called "Early Diagnosis of Cancer" and fifty-six did not take this course. Demographic information was collected and the "Health Promotion Life-Style Profile (HPLP)" was used to collect health promotion data. Frequency and descriptive statistics including one-way ANOVA, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal Wallis tests were used to evaluate data. Results: The HPLP mean score of the students was found to be 127.5±17.45. The highest mean score was observed for self-fulfillment and health responsibility, while the lowest was for diet and exercise sub-scales. It was found that certain variables were effective in developing health promoting lifestyle behaviors such as choosing this job voluntarily, working status of father and participation in social activity (p<0.05). In conclusion, it was found that the students had moderate levels of health promoting lifestyle behavior and they should be supported in terms of diet and exercise.