The relation between health locus of control and healthy lifestyle behaviors of health professionals

The Relation Between Health Locus of Control and Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors of Health Professionals Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the healthy lifestyle behaviors and patient suggestion conditions of health professionals and their relation with health locus of control. Material and Method: Doctors and nurses working in Çukurova University Faculty of Medicine Balcalı Hospital constituted the population of the study planned in cross sectional and definitive type. 244 doctors and 267 nurses were included in the study with systematic sampling. Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale Form A and a questionnaire form questioning the sociodemographical characteristics, healthy lifestyle behaviors (not smoking, consuming minimum five portions of vegetables and fruits daily, attempting to overcome stress for minimum 10 minutes daily and making exercise equal to minimum 150 minutes of brisk walking in total) and the suggestion of these behaviors to the patients were used for the participants. Results: The age median of the participants was 33.88±9.24 and 68.5% were female, 56.6% were married, 48.1% were doctors and 64.6% were working in internal sciences. It was detected that the participants applied mostly not smoking, then attempting to overcome stress, exercising, trying to preserve ideal weight and consuming 5 portions of vegetables and fruits daily in order and made suggestions to their patients in the same order. Connections of positively low-good degrees were detected between healthy lifestyle behaviors and patient suggestion levels of participants. It was also detected that the health locus of control was internal for 70.2% of the participants. Vegetable-fruit consumption and exercise scores and suggestion scores for four behaviors excluding stress management were found high for internal locus participants (p < 0,05). Result: For health professionals, healthy lifestyle behaviors and suggestion condition to their patients are both related to one another and health locus of control. It is recommended to plan attempts which would increase the awareness in this field. Keywords: Healthy lifestyle behaviors, health locus of control, doctor, nurse.