Health-promoting behaviors in women in Fasa city

Promotion of healthy behaviors and lifestyle are the major strategies to preserve the health. Due to the importance of womenchr('39')s health in promoting the community health, the present study was conducted to determine the status of women’s health promoting behaviors in Fasa in 2016.

 This descriptive-analytical study was performed on 143 women referring to health centers. Samples were selected using cluster sampling method. The data collection tool was the HPLP-II (Health Promotion Lifestyle Profile II) standard questionnaire. Data were analyzed with SPSS-21 software using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, Pearson correlation coeffitient, and ANOVA test.

 The mean age of the participants was 29.81±8.61 years and the average score of HPLP-II questionnaire was 18.64±3.49. The mean score of the subscales including promotion of health in lifestyle, health responsibility, physical activity, nutrition, spiritual growth, interpersonal relationship, and stress control were 2.5±0.6, 7±0.5, 1.9±0.6, 3.0±0.4, 3.0±0.5, 2.9±0.5, and 2.6±0.5, respectively. There was a significant relationship between the physical activity subscale and women’s occupation (P-Value≤0.001). The relationships between the spiritual growth and interpersonal relationship subscales and the educational level were also significant (P-Values=0.038 and 0.011, respectively).

 The results of this study showed that the highest and the lowest average scores were for the spiritual growth and physical activity subscales, respectively. Regarding the importance of physical activity in women’s health, motivational approaches should be used to increase their physical activity.