Perception of obesity and healthoriented behaviours in the group of medical employees

Journal Title: Polish Journal of Public Health - Year 2010, Vol 120, Issue 2

Abstract

[b]Introduction[/b]. The attitude and the personal health-oriented habits of medical employees may have significant impact on achieving desired targets of prophylaxis and therapy of civilisation diseases. It is common in the Polish healthcare system that neither clinical physicians nor GPs apply any prophylaxis or treatment to their overweight or obese patients. It may result from healthcare workers’ perception of obesity as regards their own health behaviours and habits. [b]Aim[/b]. The aim of this work is to identify the correlation between the perception of obesity and health-oriented behaviours among people responsible for the promotion of the healthy life style. [b]Materials and methods[/b]. The study was carried out from January 2009 to March 2009 and 94 persons who had been working as healthcare workers (medical doctors or nurses) for at least three years were tested. The age of the questioned individuals ranged from 26 to 45 years. The medium age in the group was M=31.89 (SD=5.077). Women were the majority of the medical staff members: 61 women (64.9%) compared to 33 men (35.1%). Two questionnaires were used in the study: the Imagination and Perception of Illness Scale, by J. Sak and the Inventory of Health Behaviours by Z. Juczyński. [b]Conclusions[/b]. Medical employees perceive obesity mainly as the destruction of physical sphere and psychical sphere. No statistically significant differences have been found between male and female healthcare workers with regard to their perception of obesity. Medical employees’ perception of obesity is dependent on their commitment to health-oriented behaviours. Medical employees’ health-oriented behaviours and beliefs are conducive to better understanding of psychological nature of people with obesity. Medical employees perform health-oriented behaviours and preventive practices more often if they perceive obesity as a burden for a patient’s environment. Promoting good health habits in order to prevent medical staff from obesity should focus on obese patient’s dependence on help from relatives and on burden they may pose on society.

Authors and Affiliations

Jarosław Sak, Mirosław Jarosz, Jakub Pawlikowski, Michał Wiechetek, Anna Włoszczak-Szubzda, Rafał Patryn, Dariusz Sagan

Keywords

Related Articles

Cyfrowy szpital. Jak się w nim odnaleźć?

Celem pracy jest próba wyjaśnienia i omówienia korzyści wprowadzenia nowych systemów informatycznych do szpitala, a zwłaszcza do pracowni diagnostycznych, oddziałów szpitalnych, przychodni przyszpitalnych, aptek szpitaln...

Attitudes of women toward spregnancy and delivery following assisted reproductive techniques

[b]Introduction[/b]. Pregnancy and delivery are very important events in every woman’s life, not only from a physiological, but also from a social point of view. The problems related to pregnancy and delivery among women...

Mesiodens – aetiology and therapeutic management (literature review)

A mesiodens (midline tooth, conical tooth, palatodens) is the commonest supernumerary tooth located between the maxillary, less frequently mandibular, central incisors. The incidence of mesiodentes is markedly higher in...

Self-assessment of vocational preparation and plans regarding undertaking employment among bachelor degree physiotherapy students of university-level schools of different educational orientations

Introduction. A major change resulting from the separation of Bachelor- and Master-level studies is that after the completion of the Bachelor-level programme the student obtains a diploma of higher vocational education,...

The quality of perinatal care in the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński Regional Hospital in Łomża.

[b]Introduction.[/b] Patient rights are an integral part of human rights in the broad sense of the word. The basis for these rights is acknowledging the unalienable right to dignity of every human, his/her autonomy and f...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP150080
  • DOI -
  • Views 89
  • Downloads 0

How To Cite

Jarosław Sak, Mirosław Jarosz, Jakub Pawlikowski, Michał Wiechetek, Anna Włoszczak-Szubzda, Rafał Patryn, Dariusz Sagan (2010). Perception of obesity and healthoriented behaviours in the group of medical employees. Polish Journal of Public Health, 120(2), 139-143. https://europub.co.uk/articles/-A-150080