Health promotion and early disease detection among medical school faculty.
BACKGROUND
Medical school faculty members influence students' health promotion beliefs by their patient care activities and personal health habits. We characterized the medical school environment by defining faculty's health promotion and early disease detection attitudes and practices. The data disclose faculty needs and suggest a new paradigm to alter medical students' health promotion beliefs and care patterns.


METHODS
An observational study of all academic faculty was conducted at a medical school using self-report survey data collected with a confidential questionnaire. The survey instrument assessed faculty demographics, 27 behaviors, and 23 beliefs concerning health promotion.


RESULTS
Eighty-four percent of faculty (575 of 683) responded. Although agreement was moderate to good between lifestyle beliefs and personal behaviors, the concordance between personal adherence to and beliefs concerning the recommended physical examinations and laboratory tests was only fair (kappa 0.21 to 0.40).


CONCLUSIONS
Faculty's health promotion and disease detection beliefs and behaviors were inconsistent. Observing this discrepancy may relate to students' establishment of attitudes and practices. Modifying faculty's personal behaviors and altering the medical school environment might enhance students' commitment toward preventive care.
Elliot
D L
DL
Department of Medicine, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland.
Goldberg
L
L
Toffler
W L
WL
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003625:Data Collection; D005180:Faculty, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015279:Organizational Culture; D011322:Primary Prevention / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012577:Schools, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States