Background Determinants of Physical Activity among Iranian Nurses: A Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Physical activity as an important health promoting behavior requires understanding and identifying the factors that affect it. Although it is difficult to discover all the factors and components that affect behavior, achieving a number of factors and influential factors in these behaviors facilitates predictive power and helps practitioners to formulate educational programs and interventions. Research has shown that, one of the determinants of physical activity is the underlying and demographic factors. This study aimed to identify the underlying factors affecting physical activity among Iranian nurses. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 418 nurses from Kurdistan and Isfahan Universities of Medical Sciences. In this study, hospitals were considered as class, and nurses were randomly selected using proportional allocation method. Data were collected by a two-part questionnaire including physical activity questionnaire and demographic characteristics questionnaire. Data analysis was performed by statistical tests such as t-test and chi-square test using SPSS 21 software at a significant level of 0.05. Results: Based on the results, 273 (66.6) nurses had low physical activity, 104 (25.4) subjects had moderate physical activity and 33 (8) subjects had intense physical activity. There was a significant relationship between marital status and physical activity (x2 = 3.525, P = 0.041), and also membership in sports clubs and physical activity (x2 = 3.651, P = 0.036) but in other cases, there was no significant relationship. Independent t-test showed a significant relationship between age and physical activity (P = 0.043, t = 2.039). However, there was no significant relationship between work experience and duration of exercise in the past with physical activity. Conclusion: Inactive living and physical activity lower than the standard in nurses who are responsible for community health are a danger to health authorities. Given the effectiveness of some of the underlying factors on physical activity, custodians should develop appropriate strategies to moderate these factors. However, some underlying factors may not be adjusted but knowing these factors and their impact, can greatly reduce their negative effects.