Investigation of healthy living awareness, smartphone addiction and exercise behaviour change in university students

In today's world, rapidly changing lifestyles, technology addiction, and unhealthy habits have become significant public health concerns due to their negative impact on university students' health status. Particularly among university students, maintaining healthy lifestyle behaviors has become increasingly difficult, while dependence on digital devices such as smartphones is on the rise. In this context, healthy living awareness emerges as a critical factor in protecting and enhancing the physical, mental, and social well-being of young individuals. This thesis aims to examine the interaction between healthy living awareness, smartphone addiction, and exercise behavior change among students at Bingöl University Vocational School of Health Services, with the goal of improving young people's quality of life and contributing to the resolution of health-related problems. This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted during the spring semester of the 2023–2024 academic year with 1571 students enrolled at Bingöl University Vocational School of Health Services. The data were collected through face-to-face surveys, including a 21-item questionnaire developed by the researchers to assess demographic, social, and health-related information, along with the Healthy Living Awareness Scale (HLAS), the Smartphone Addiction Scale–Short Version (SAS-SV), and the Exercise Stages of Change Questionnaire (ESOCQ). For analysis of categorical variables between groups, Pearson's Chi-square test was used. The normality of continuous variables was assessed with the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Mann-Whitney U test was employed for two-group comparisons, while Kruskal-Wallis test was used for comparisons involving more than two groups. Spearman correlation analysis was used to examine relationships between continuous variables. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Among the participating students, 72.6% were female, with a mean age of 20.6 ±1.57. Of the participants, 26.7% smoked and 3.2% consumed alcohol. Approximately 29.7% had been using smartphones for more than six years, and 77.3% reported not paying attention to ergonomics. A statistically significant negative correlation was found between the total score of the Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS) and both the total and subscale scores of the Healthy Living Awareness Scale (p<0.001), as well as the Stages of Exercise Behaviour Change Steps (p<0.001). Conversely, a positive correlation was observed between the ESOCQ and the HLAS total and subscale scores (p<0.001). In conclusion, it was revealed that excessive smartphone use leading to addiction is associated with physical health problems among young individuals. The findings also supported the association between smartphone addiction and physical complaints such as neck and shoulder pain. Enhancing healthy lifestyle awareness, reducing smartphone addiction, identifying the stages of exercise behavior change, and implementing educational interventions in these areas are considered appropriate strategies for addressing the problem.