Self report of health promoting behaviors of nurses working in the educational hospitals

Nurses are the largest group of professionals in the health care systems whose the most important aim is enhancing patients’ quality of life، but nurses’ own quality of life and health promoting behaviors are the issues that have not been dealt with sufficiently. The present study was performed to measure the amount of health promoting behaviors of nurses working in educational hospitals of Sari affiliated to Mazandaran University of Medical sciences 2013. The present research is a descriptive cross- sectional study which was done through using stratified random sampling in 226 working nurses in four educational hospitals in Sari city in 2013. Data were gathered using a two-section questionnaire including demographic characteristics and 52 likert-type (from 0 to 4 score) questions which was based on Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile-HPLP- II and its validity and reliability were confirmed. Data analysis was performed using T-test and One-way ANOVA tests. The mean score of HPLP- II was 135. 33±18. 55 (the total score is 208). The highest score was in the area of nutrition (25. 53±4. 37) and the least score was in the area of physical activity (16. 85±5. 05). The total score of HPLP- II and all its area except nutrition were higher in the male nurses than that of female nurses، but the significant difference was observed in the area of physical activity (p=0. 001). Nurses should obey health promoting behaviors in a high level and this study is a beginning of increasing researchers and hospital managers’ knowledge to implement health promoting plans among the working nurses in the hospitals to achieve a desirable level of health promoting behaviors especially in the physical activity domain.