HEALTH, PROFESSION AND BEHAVIOR: AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE HEALTH EDUCATIONAL ASPECTS OF THE WORK OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOLTEACHERS, COMMUNITY NURSES AND GENERAL PRACTITIONERS IN THE NETHERLANDS.
Contributors: Universiteit Utrecht (The Netherlands)
Published: 1988
Number of pages: 197
Subjects: Health Sciences, Education.; Education, Health.; Health Sciences, Public Health.
Description: This study focuses on three professional groups: elementary school teachers, community nurses and general practitioners. Their health behaviors, the way they perceive health educational aspects of their work and their perception of their exemplary role are examined.

The study starts with a review of the literature pertaining to health education, health behavior and the exemplary role of the three key health professionals. The review of the literature presented shows that health behaviors and their interrelationships have been analysed along three different approaches: the atomistic approach, the additivity approach and the scaling approach.

An analysis using the four core variables is presented. These four core variables were: the perception of health educational aspects in the actual and desired work situation of the three professional groups, their health behavior and their eventual exemplary role. The health educational aspects of the work have been measured by a set of ten (aggregated) competencies. Respondents rated their importance in their actual work setting on a four-point scale, and the extent to which a given health professional would want to give less, equal or more attention to any health educational competency on a five-point scale. Health behavior was measured by a twelve-item Health Behavior Scale (HBS) comprising items concerning coffee-, alcohol-, tobacco- and sugar consumption, dental hygiene and -check-up frequency, on weight for height, sleep duration, seatbelt use and manual hygiene. Exemplary role recognition (EXR) was measured by a six-item list containing three general lifestyle statements and three others pertaining to alcohol-, drugs- and tobacco-use.

Using a comprehensive Health Behavior Scale to measure health behavior, it appeared that community nurses had the most healthy lifestyle, followed closely by schoolteachers.

For schoolteachers and community nurses the extent to which one practises health education in the actual work setting appeared to be positively related to the extent to which these professions wanted to act on health education in their future professional practice. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.).
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-12, Section: B, page: 5532.

Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITEIT UTRECHT (THE NETHERLANDS), 1988.

School code: 0404.