Healthy life-style promoting behaviour in Turkish women aged 18-64.
OBJECTIVE
In this study we aimed to investigate the healthy life-style behaviour of Turkish women and establish influencing features.


METHODS
This descriptive study performed by a questionnaire method was conducted in a primary health care centre, in an urban region in Kayseri, Turkey. Every midwife region belonging to the health care centre was accepted as a cluster, and a sample of 450 women between ages 18-64, was gathered from 9 midwife regions. The Health Promotion Life-style Profile (HPLP) was applied to evaluated the healthy life- style behaviour of 421 women that could be reached. T test, Tukey HSD with ANOVA, and chi square tests were used for analysis.


RESULTS
The mean total HPLP was 126.8 ± 19.2 (interpersonal support subscale, 74.3 ± 14.1; nutrition subscale, 73.6 ± 12.6; self-actualisation subscale, 70.6 ± 11.9; stress management subscale, 63.4 ± 13.0; health responsibility subscale, 61.2 ± 13.2; and exercise subscale, 47.1 ± 15.0). There was no statistically significant variation when evaluated for age, marital state, family type, economic status, and perception of self-health, smoking, and BMI. HPLP was high in people with an education of primary school and lower in university graduates, in people who lived mostly in the city centre and in individuals with chronic diseases. In conclusion, it was established that the health promoting behaviour in Turkish women is, in general, at a medium level, and women should be enlightened in order to develop and increase the habit of health preservation and promotion.
Department of Public Health, Erciyes University School of Medicine, Kayseri, Turkey.
Hacer
H
Sonmezer
Fevziye
F
Cetinkaya
Melis
M
Nacar
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004032:Diet; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008019:Life Style; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D009043:Motor Activity; D012649:Self Concept; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014421:Turkey; D014505:Urban Population; D055815:Young Adult