A mixed methods study of the health promoting behaviours of Nigeria nurses and implications for their health promotion practice and patients
Publication Date
December 15, 2022
Creator
Abstract
Problem/Background:
Nurses represent the largest group of healthcare professionals in the healthcare system. Nurses also have huge role to play in contemporary health promotion to tackle the growing prevalence of obesity and chronic diseases. Nevertheless, little is known about the personal health promoting behaviours of Nigeria nurses and whether these nurses are role models for healthy lifestyles they promote to patients and the public. More so, nothing is known about how patients perceive nurses in terms of role modelling health promoting behaviours and its implications for their engagement with nurses health promotion practice.
Aim:
The aim of this study is to assess Nigeria nurses’ weight status and personal health promoting behaviours as well as the determining factors of their health promoting behaviours and the implications for their health and health promotion practice with patients.
Design/Methodology:
This study adopted a mixed method research design consisting of a cross-sectional questionnaire study with nurses and one to one interview with nurses and patients respectively to further explore the topic in context to meet the aim of the study.
Setting and Participants:
The study was conducted in a large urban tertiary hospital in Nigeria. Participants were nurses working in the medical department of the hospital and their patients. Questionnaires were delivered to all the nurses with attached expression of interest forms for nurses willing to participate in the interviews to fill and return. The nurses interviewed were sampled from those that indicated interest by filling and returning the forms. Patients were contacted and recruited by their medical team based on the study criteria. In total, there was 191 questionnaires responses and 34 interviews (18 interviews with nurses and 16 interviews with patients).
Results/findings:
Nigeria nurses were found to have extremely high overweight and obesity prevalence. More nurses were obese compared to overweight but based on self-reporting, nurses under-reported their body mass index status to be more overweight than obese. Using the eating behaviour patterns questionnaire (EBPQ), unhealthy eating behaviours such as high fat eating, snacking on sweet, haphazard planning and cultural and lifestyle behaviours were also found among nurses. Almost all nurses had low physical activity levels on the international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ-SF). Smoking and alcohol consumption behaviours were reported to be within healthy levels among the nurses. The socio-ecological model (SEM) was utilised and showed that the barriers to nurses’ engagement in health promoting behaviours outweigh the facilitators and a lack of organisational and policy structures and initiatives to promote nurses practice of healthy lifestyles was highlighted.
Study findings show that nurses acknowledge they perceive the existence of role modelling expectations from patients and the public. Nurses also report not perceiving themselves as role models for health in behaviours they do not optimally practice and vice versa. Nurses’ belief that they ought to be role models while engaging in unhealthy behaviours that jeopardise their healthy role modelling potentials highlight the existence of cognitive dissonance, a knowledge-practice gap which needs to be urgently bridged.
A novel finding from this research is that patients have perceptions that nurses should be role models for health promoting behaviours, but raise concerns that nurses are majorly not optimal role models due to nurses’ widespread large body sizes. Nurses’ body sizes represented an outwardly visible basis for patients’ assessment of nurses’ compliance to healthy lifestyles. Patients’ report that they are more likely to listen and engage with a nurse who seems to be practising what she preaches in terms of healthy lifestyles and vice versa.
Significance/conclusion:
This research contributes to new knowledge and provides current information about Nigeria nurses’ high overweight and obesity levels, unhealthy eating behaviours, physical inactivity and the determinants of these behaviours. Patients and nurses’ perceptions about how nurses ought to be role models for health need not be undermined but given significant consideration because nurses are not currently living up to healthy eating and physical activity recommendations thus diminishing their role modelling potential and credibility for their health promotion practice with patients. This study highlights an urgent call to action and the need to support nurses towards adoption and maintenance of healthy lifestyles in order to make nurses potentially feel more willing and prepared to promote health to patients. Finally, this study recommends multidisciplinary partnerships and advocacy for improvements and changes in health policies at the national and hospital level in Nigeria towards prioritisation and promotion of the health of not just nurses but all healthcare staff in general.
Item Type
ethesis
Thesis Type
PhD
Supervisors
Subjects (LC)
Associated Schools / Departments
School of Health Sciences
eprints ID
69644
UoN Repository URI
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Name
Thesis corrected cleaned version JULY 2022.pdf
Type
Full-text
Description
Examined. Corrected cleaned version of PhD thesis July 2022
Size
4.08 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
c866869e3c48c4e5d4e78129bd0c6bb6