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Physical health, lifestyle beliefs and behaviors, and mental health of entering graduate health professional students: Evidence to support screening and early intervention.
- Source :
-
Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners . Apr2016, Vol. 28 Issue 4, p204-211. 8p. - Publication Year :
- 2016
-
Abstract
- Background and purpose Little is known about the physical health, lifestyle beliefs and behaviors, and mental health among first-year health professional graduate students. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to describe these attributes as well as to explore the relationships among them. Methods A descriptive correlational study was conducted on the baseline data from a wellness onboarding intervention study with 93 health sciences students from seven different colleges within a large public land grant university in the Midwest United States. Findings Nearly 40% of the sample was overweight/obese, and 19% of students had elevated total cholesterol levels. Only 44% met the recommended 30 min of exercise 5 days per week. Forty-one percent reported elevated depressive symptoms and 28% had elevated anxiety. Four students reported suicidal ideation. Inverse relationships existed among depression/anxiety and healthy lifestyle beliefs/behaviors. Conclusions Students entering health professional schools are at high risk for depression, anxiety, and unhealthy behaviors, which could be averted through screening and early evidence-based interventions. Implications for practice Assessing the physical health, lifestyle behaviors, and mental health of first-year health sciences professional students is important to identify health problems and modifiable at-risk behaviors so that early interventions can be implemented to improve outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- *ANXIETY
*BIOMETRY
*STATISTICAL correlation
*MENTAL depression
*HEALTH attitudes
*HEALTH behavior
*HEALTH occupations students
*HEALTH status indicators
*RESEARCH methodology
*MEDICAL screening
*MENTAL health
*PSYCHOLOGICAL tests
*QUESTIONNAIRES
*SCALE analysis (Psychology)
*SURVEYS
*UNIVERSITIES & colleges
*LIFESTYLES
*EARLY medical intervention
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 23276886
- Volume :
- 28
- Issue :
- 4
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 114679589
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1002/2327-6924.12350