CONTEMPORARY NURSE, vol.50, pp.267-273, 2015 (SCI-Expanded)
Background: Health-promoting lifestyle behaviors are not only for the prevention of a disease or discomfort, but are also behaviors that aim to improve the individual's general health and well-being. Nurses have an important position in the development of healthy lifestyle behaviors in women.Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of parity on health-promoting lifestyle behaviors in women.Method/Design: This descriptive and cross-sectional survey was performed in Adana, Turkey. This study was conducted with 352 women. The questionnaire consisted of two parts; the first part consisted of questions that assessed the socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics, and the second part employed the Health Promotion Lifestyle Profile Scale (HPLP). Data analysis included percentage, arithmetic average, and ANOVA tests.Results: The results revealed that 24.1% of the women had no parity, 13.6% had one parity, 30.7% had two parities, 14.6% had three parities, and 17% had four and above parities. The mean total HPLP was 126.6618.12 (interpersonal support subscale, 24.46 +/- 4.02; nutrition subscale, 21.59 +/- 3.92; self-actualization subscale, 24.42 +/- 4.30; stress management subscale, 18.73 +/- 3.81; health responsibility subscale, 21.75 +/- 4.31; and exercise subscale, 15.71 +/- 4.22).Conclusions: The health behavior of women was moderate. A statistically significant correlation was found between the number of parities and the Health Responsibility, Nutrition, Interpersonal Support, which is the subscale of the HPLP Scale.