Health care for women regularly focuses on the reproductive system to the exclusion of other health needs. The lack of research focusing on women´s common health issues is a major problem to the enhanced optimal level of women´s health. Health care providers have to recognize biological and social differences between men and women.
This study was conducted to identify the baseline data and their correlation of health perception, health behavior, and health status of adult women for developing nursing intervention.
The study was a descriptive correlational design. A convenient sampling method was used for collecting data from 103 adult women, over 18 years of age, during the period from Sep 1 to Nov 30, 2001. The study´s subjects were interviewed using a structured questionnaire.
The instruments for this study were the health perception scale modified by Lee (1985) based on the tool developed by Ware (1977) and Jenkins (1966), and the health behavior scale by Ko, Kumja (1987). Health status was measured by the short from Cornell Medical Index (CMI) modified by Nam, Hochang (1965).
The data were analyzed SPSS PC+, by frequency, mean, t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficients. Also, the Duncan test was utilized for a post hoc test of ANOVA.
The results of this study are as follows:
1. The mean score for health perception was 3.02 (S.D = 0.39) on a 5 point scale.
2. The mean score for health behavior was 3.08 (S.D = 0.43) on a 5 point scale.
3. The mean score for health status was 18.54 on 58 items. The mean score for physical symptoms of a subscale of health status was 11.30 on 36 items and the mean score for psychological symptoms was 7.37 on 22 items.
4. The relationship of sociodemographic variables to health perception, health behavior, and health status of women: 1) There were significant differences in the scores of health perception by disease experience (t=-3.37, p=0.00). 2) There were significant differences in the scores of health behavior by age (F=10.52, p=0.00), height (F=4.73, p=0.01), marital status (t=-5.56, p=0.00), educational background (t=2.90, p=0.00), and drinking or non-drinking (t=2.17, p=0.03). 3) There were significant differences in the scores of health status by educaitonal background (t=2.28, p=0.02) and disease experience (t=2.61, p=0.01).
5. Health perception showed significant positive correlation with health behavior (r=0.39, p=0.00).
Health perception showed significant negative correlation with health status (r=-0.44, p=0.00), that is, the more women perceived health, the less she complained about unhealthy symptoms. Health behavior had no significant correlation with health status but showed a positive correlation with psychological symptoms of a subscale of health status (r=-0.19, p=0.05).
Many of the leading causes of disease are preventable through changes in health perception and behavior. The need to increase individual awareness of relationships among health perception, health behavior, and health status and to enhance knowledge regarding the long-term effects of positive health behaviors, is an important nursing strategy for women´s health promotion.
|