The correlation analysis between fatigue and health promoting life style among a rural college students

Jang, Hee Jung

Abstract

The disease patterns among the Korean was shifted from acute and infectious diseases to chronic diseases. According to the these disease patterns trends, people have concerned about the health promotion and health behaviors. Pender's(1996) revised health promotion model(HPM) is consist of three categories; Individual characteristics and experiences, Behavior-specific cognitions and affect, behavioral outcome. Of these categories, individual characteristics and experiences, this category of variables is considered to be of biological, psychological and socio-cultural personal factors, especially, individual fatigue. Futhermore, these variables constitute a critical core for nursing intervention, as they are subject to modification through nursing actions. But there is no few the research of the relationship between the fatigue and health promotion. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the correlation between the fatigue and health promoting life style among a rural college students. Additionally, this descriptive correlational study identified the relation of demographic factors and fatigue, health promoting life style. From June 20 to 26, 1998, a convenience sample of 270 college students completed the questionnaire of the fatigue and health promoting life style profile which were developed by the Yoshitake(1978) and Walker, et al.(1987), respectively. The descriptive correlational statistics, mean, t-test, ANONA, Pearson correlation coefficient were used to analyze the data gathered with SAS pc+ program. The results were as it follows: 1. The average fatigue score of the subjects was 64.93+/-12.89. Fatigue scores by subcategory were physical symptoms(23.5+/-4.87), psychological symptoms(22.11+/-4.66) and neuro-sensory symptoms(19.32+/-5.14). With the respect to the demographic characteristics of the subjects, there were statistically significant differences between the demographic factors and fatigue, especially, sex(t==3.69 p< 0.01), major(t=-2.89 p<0.01), the experience of family illness(t=2.76 p<0.01). 2. The average health promoting life style item score of the subjects was 2.33+/-0.33. In the subcategories, the highest degree of performance was selfactualization(2.94), following interpersonal support(2.81), stress management(2.33), exercise(2.20), nutrition(2.10), and the lowest degree was health responsibility (1.73). There were the significant differences on the learning of health education(t=2.00 p<0.01), religion(F=3.01, p<0.05), circle activity(t=2.07, p<0.05), nutrition control(t=5.25, p<0.01) of demographical factors with the health promoting life style. 3. The correlation between the fatigue and health promoting life style made statistically no significance(r=-0.09731, p>0.05). But there was negative significant relationship between health promoting life style and psychological symptom as a fatigue subcategory(r=-0.15721, p<0.05). The self-actualization showed negative significant correlation with all fatigue subcategory. The health responsibility showed significant relationship with total fatigue(r=0.13050, p<0.05). For further research, it suggests to replicate the correlational and causal study between the fatigue and the health promoting life style using the another fatigue scale which is able to measure the subjective and objective fatigue degree. And it needs to develop the nursing intervention program for maintaining and promoting the health behavior as well as for decreasing the college students's fatigue.