Using SAS to Examine Health-Promoting Life Style Activities of Upper Division Nursing Students at USC

Health promotion is an important nursing intervention. Research has long shown that one’s lifestyle affects health. A health-promoting lifestyle has been described as a multi-dimensional pattern of self-initiated actions that maintain or enhance one’s level of wellness, self-actualization, and fulfillment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the health promotion/life style activities of upper division nursing students in a college of nursing in South Carolina (SC). Specific aims of the study were (1) to measure health-promoting life style activities of upper division nursing students in a college of nursing in the Southeastern United States; (2) to compare the health-promoting life styles of male and female nursing students; (3) to compare the health-promoting life styles of Caucasian students to students of other ethnic groups; and 4) to compare the health-promoting life styles of by marital status. This study used a descriptive, comparative design to assess the health promotion/life style activities of upper division nursing students in a college of nursing in the Southeastern US. Women are often more involved in interpersonal relationships than men and use and provide more social support than men. The result did not reveal any significant difference for total and subscales of health promoting by gender. There were statistically significant differences for white students versus other race in terms of physical activity, nutrition, and interpersonal relations. There was significant difference for physical activity by marital status. However, there were not any statistical differences for other subscales by marital status.