 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Xuenong Xin, MD, Anhui Provincial Hospital, 17 LuJiang Road, Hefei, China, 551/265-2797, pjohnso2@kennesaw.edu, Ping Hu Johnson, MD, PhD, CHES, Health, Physical Education and Sports Science, Kennesaw State University, 1000 Chastain Road, Kennesaw, GA 30144, and Roy D. Johnson, PhD, Department of Computer Information Systems, Georgia State University, P. O. Box 4015, Atlanta, GA 30302.
Studies have demonstrated the benefits of health behaviors in promoting health and preventing diseases. Little is known about individual health behaviors in developing countries. A written questionnaire was administered to 1917 students enrolled in three universities in China to examine their priority health behavior practices. Of the 1719 returned questionnaires (response rate: 89.7%), 1504 were usable. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests.
It was found that the majority of the respondents considered themselves to be healthy (67.56%), slept 7-8 hours daily (80.1%), had never tried illegal drugs (95.7%), ate green vegetables (87.2%) and breakfast (80.3%) the day before the survey, never had sexual intercourse (88.3%), were never diagnosed with an STD (96.1%), carried no weapon in the past month (91.8%), had smoked cigarettes (75.2%) and drunk alcohol (88.6%) at a very young age and many became regular smokers and binge drinkers. Among the sexually active respondents, 66.7% never used a condom, 23.8% involved drinking alcohol, and 20.8% had two or more sexual partners in their lifetime. Behaviors reported less often included 12.4% had at least one physical fight and 13.4% seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year. These data were analyzed by sex, age group, perceived health status, perceived stress level, and other relevant variables.
Results show that Chinese college students practiced many priority health behaviors well. However, alcohol and tobacco use and unprotected sex were problems among Chinese university undergraduates. Therefore, designing and delivering health education programs that address these issues are imperative in China.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: International Health, Health Behavior
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.