Assessment of Lifestyle Behaviors of Nursing Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Authors : Şeyma Nur Hepokur Yıldırım, Yeter Kitiş

Pages : 30-49

Doi:10.69487/hemarge.1429578

View : 23 | Download : 32

Publication Date : 2024-08-06

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the changes in lifestyle-related behaviors of nursing students in the fourteenth and fifteenth months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This research was conducted in descriptive type. 489 nursing students studying at 25 universities randomly selected, stratified by region and proportionally, participated in the research. Data were collected using the sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire and the Lifestyle Behavior Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis-H, Mann-Whitney U with Bonferroni correction and Pearson chi-square tests. Results: The results showed that participants adopted healthier diets and struggled with stress and anxiety. Female participants adopted healthier diets, received more social support, and participated in physical activities more often but experienced more anxiety and stress than their male counterparts. Fourth-year students ate less junk food and experienced less anxiety and stress than first- and second-year students. Participants in big cities adopted more unhealthy diets than those in small towns. Participants who had tested positive for COVID adopted healthier diets than those who had not (p<0.05). Conclusion: The results showed that participants had adopted both healthy and unhealthy lifestyle-related behaviors since the pandemic began. Guidelines should be provide on healthy lifestyles in times of crisis, such as pandemics and, also develop strategies and interventions to encourage students to follow those guidelines. Universities should offer training and support to help students cope with stress, stay physically active, and eat healthily.
Keywords : hemşirelik öğrencileri, Türkiye, yaşam tarzı, pandemik