Division of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, NG7 2AH, UK.
Perspect Public Health. 2011 Sep;131(5):231-9. doi: 10.1177/1757913911402547.
Promoting healthy lifestyles plays a key role in professional nursing yet nurses do not always practice what they preach. Efforts are currently being made to improve the health of NHS staff, yet little is known about the health and lifestyle behaviours of pre-registration nurses in the UK although these individuals are our next generation of NHS employees. The aim of this study was to investigate the health behaviours and wellbeing of pre-registration nurses based at an acute NHS teaching hospital in England.
In this cross-sectional questionnaire survey, 325 pre-registration nurses (50% response rate) completed a health and lifestyle questionnaire, measuring levels of physical activity, smoking and alcohol behaviour, dietary practices and general health.
Age ranged from 19-53 years, and 96% of the sample was female. More than half of the sample did not meet public health recommendations for physical activity. Just under one-fifth were current smokers and over three-quarters did not consume five servings of fruit/vegetables per day. Two-thirds reported exceeding the recommended maximum daily alcohol intake and around one third were classified as either overweight or obese. Those who were physically inactive were less likely to report good general health, good dietary practices and more sleep, and were more likely to report cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption than their active counterparts.
This study indicates that the health profile of pre-registration nurses is relatively poor, and that those who are sedentary engage in other negative lifestyle behaviours also. Despite significant education relating to health promotion and health behaviours of patients being targeted at pre-registered nurses, it seems that this knowledge is not always transferred to their own behaviour. There is a need for timely intervention to establish healthy lifestyle behaviours amongst nurses early in their career.
促进健康的生活方式在专业护理中起着关键作用，但护士并不总是言行一致。目前正在努力改善国民保健制度员工的健康状况，但人们对英国注册前护士的健康和生活方式行为知之甚少，尽管这些人是我们国民保健制度的下一代员工。本研究旨在调查位于英国一家急性国民保健制度教学医院的注册前护士的健康行为和幸福感。
在这项横断面问卷调查研究中，325 名注册前护士（50%的回复率）完成了一份健康和生活方式问卷，测量了他们的身体活动水平、吸烟和饮酒行为、饮食行为和一般健康状况。
年龄在 19-53 岁之间，样本中 96%为女性。超过一半的样本不符合公共卫生对身体活动的建议。近五分之一的人是现在吸烟者，超过四分之三的人每天没有摄入五份水果/蔬菜。三分之二的人报告说超过了建议的每日最大饮酒量，大约三分之一的人被归类为超重或肥胖。不活跃的人不太可能报告总体健康状况良好、饮食良好和睡眠充足，与活跃的人相比，他们更有可能吸烟和饮酒。
这项研究表明，注册前护士的健康状况相对较差，而且那些不活跃的人还会从事其他负面的生活方式行为。尽管针对注册前护士开展了大量与患者健康促进和健康行为相关的教育，但这些知识似乎并没有总是转化为他们自己的行为。有必要及时进行干预，在护士职业生涯早期建立健康的生活方式行为。
