Evaluation of cardiovascular disease risk awareness, healthy lifestyle behaviors and quality of life in long-distance drivers

Aim: This study aimed to determine cardiovascular disease risk awareness, healthy lifestyle behaviors, and quality of life in long-distance drivers. Methods: The descriptive study was conducted on 386 long-distance drivers between September 2022 and April 2025. The data of the study were collected with the Socio-Demographic Characteristics Information Form, Cardiovascular Disease Risk Awareness Rating Scale, Healthy Lifestyle Behaviours Scale II and Quality of Life Assessment Scale-Short Form. Independent samples t-test, analysis of variance, and Pearson correlation analysis were used to analyze the data. Results: The total score of the Cardiovascular Disease Risk Awareness Scale was 33.30±8.03, while the mean score on the Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale II was 116.31±29.06. The mean scores of the Quality of Life subdomains were as follows: Physical Functioning 72.02±19.41, Physical Role Limitation 49.94±40.61, Emotional Role Limitation 42.92±35.19, Energy/Vitality 54.87±22.30, Mental Health 60.28±21.07, Social Functioning 64.44±27.41, Pain 65.36±26.75, and General Health 54.03±19.76. A statistically significant, moderate, and positive correlation was found between cardiovascular risk awareness and healthy lifestyle behaviors (p<0.05). Physical Functioning, Physical Role Limitation, and Social Functioning scores were significantly and positively associated with both scales. In contrast, Emotional Role Limitation, Energy/Vitality, Mental Health, Pain, and General Health scores were significantly correlated only with the Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors. Conclusion: It was determined that long-distance drivers' cardiovascular risk awareness, healthy lifestyle behaviors, and quality of life were moderate. It is recommended that health promotion programs should be planned and implemented. Keywords: Cardiovascular disease, Healthy lifestyle, Long distance driver, Nursing, Risk perception, Quality of life