Examnation of the relationship between physical activity level, depression level and quality of life of healthcare professionals: A study in Çankiri State Hospital

Physical activity (PA) has many known benefits for physical, cognitive and mental health. Although the positive effects of exercise such as reducing the symptoms of depression and increasing the quality of life are known, a large part of the world's population is not physically active. It is known that health professionals with a high risk of occupational burnout do not participate sufficiently in exercise, but studies investigating the relationship between physical activity level, depression level and quality of life are limited in the literature. Therefore, in our study, it was aimed to examine the relationship between physical activity levels of health professionals, depression level and quality of life. This prospective cross-sectional survey study was conducted in Çankırı State Hospital. 128 health professionals (20-55 years, 78F/50E) working in the hospital were included in the study group on a voluntary basis. Demographic information of individuals was recorded. Physical activity levels were evaluated using International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form, depression status Beck Depression Inventory and quality of life World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire. Spearman Correlation analysis was used in the analysis of the data. There was no statistically significant relationship between physical activity level and depression level and sub-parameters of quality of life. There was a moderate negative correlation between depression status and physical health domain of quality of life (r= -0.335, p<0.001)), psychological domain (r= -0.578, p<0.001), social domain (r= -0.436, p<0.001) and environment domain (r= -0.418, p<0.001). Only 14% of the study group preferred walking, while 36.7% were not physically active. Access to work appears to form the basis of physical activity for healthcare professionals. An important factor that will increase the physical activity level of health professionals can be the planning of approaches that will provide physical activity awareness in order to have positive effects on depression and quality of life. Using subjective and objective methods together in evaluating physical activity may help to make the evaluation results more objective. It should be evaluated in the barriers that cause low physical activity level. Keywords: "Depression", "healthcare professionals", "physical activity", "quality of life."