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Tuesday, November 3, 2009: 2:45 PM
Learning Objective 1: describe the life-style and health behaviors of underserved adults seen at a nurse managed center.
Learning Objective 2: evaluate the relationships among life-style, health behaviors, and health status outcomes of underserved adults.
The purpose was to examine the relationships among life-style, health behaviors, and health status outcomes for underserved adults at a nurse managed center. Guided by Bruhn’s framework of life-style and health behaviors (1988), multiple influences (cultural, environmental, social, and personal) impact life-style that is acquired and changes over time. Health behaviors include actions or inactions that directly or indirectly affect health status. A convenience sample of 84 adults was recruited. Data were collected using an investigator developed tool to measure factors influencing life-style and health behaviors. Health status was measured by the SF-12 Health Survey which included general (SF-1), physical (PCS), and mental (MCS) component summary scores. Descriptive statistics and correlations were used to examine the variables. The majority of the sample was white (94%), female (65.9%), aged 18 – 64 years, and had an annual income ≤ $ 25,000. Life-style results indicated: subjects slept an average of 7.16 hours, 44% smoked, 59.1% consumed alcohol, 43% used street drugs, and 45% exercised. For health behaviors, 65% engaged in screening activities, and 61% used one prescription medication. 89% identified one current symptom; 72% reported one current medical condition; and BMI averaged 29.3. Health status outcomes means were SF-1 = 2.9, PCS = 42.2 and MCS = 10.9. Age was negatively correlated with the number of alcohol drinks (p<.02). Medical conditions were positively correlated with exercise (p = .037) and prescription usage (p = .000). The only life-style or health behaviors significantly correlated with health status outcomes was prescription medication usage (p <.002). Medical conditions were inversely related to all health status outcomes (p <.007).BMI was negatively correlated with SF-1 and PCS (p< .002). Findings provided selective support for the links among life-style, health behaviors, and health status. The results can be useful when planning care for the underserved.