Health risk appraisal differences between well elderly and university students.

A descriptive/correlational study was undertaken to compare lifestyle behaviors between the well elderly attending a nurse-managed clinic and students attending a university wellness center. The purpose of this study was threefold: (a) to determine current health behaviors of both well elderly and students, (b) to identify high-risk health practices among these two populations, and (c) to compare differences in health behaviors between the two groups. The Carter Center of Emory University Health Risk Appraisal (HRA) was used to measure the occurrence of selected health behaviors. The sample consisted of 173 well elderly and 110 students. Results of the study indicate that when age-related physiologic variables were removed, both groups were highly involved in risk preventive behaviors. Most differences could be explained by culture and age. Additional studies are needed to measure the effect of risk preventive behaviors on quality-of-life.