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Hallett, Sarah (2011) Benefits and barriers to physical activity in undergraduate student nurses. [Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)] (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Background:

The literature suggests that general population and National Health Service staff physical activity levels are low despite the well documented benefits of physical activity.

Primary Aim:

To assess physical activity levels of undergraduate student nurses and indentify any barriers and determinants to physical activity.

Secondary Aims:

To identify the level of social support from family and friends for carrying out physical activity in undergraduate student nurses and to examine whether this significantly affects physical activity level. To assess self efficacy for physical activity and to examine whether this significantly affects physical activity level. To assess gender differences in physical activity participation, level of self efficacy, benefits and barriers for physical activity and levels of social support

Method:

Cross sectional questionnaire survey on paper or online using the benefits and barrier scale, the self efficacy for physical activity scale, stages of exercise change model, social support for physical activity scales.

Outcomes:

There was a final sample size of 469. The results showed that just under half of the sample population were inactive (44.34%). There was also a significant link between an individual’s score on the exercise benefits and barriers scale (p=<.001), the self efficacy for exercise scale (p=<.001), the friend social support scale (p=<.001) and the family social support scale (p=<.05) and their level of physical activity. Males reported being less active than females however this was not statistically significant (p=.12). Males also reported higher scores on the self efficacy scale than females did.

Conclusions:

Nurses have low levels of physical activity and report the main barriers to being physically active as being too tired by exercise, exercise costing too much money and exercise being too hard work. Nurses are influenced by peer and family social support in their level of physical activity and also by their own level of self efficacy for exercise. These results have implications for practice as there has been a recent focus within government policy aimed at increasing the general populations’ physical activity. Therefore these results offer possibilities for implementing changes especially as there is an increasing view that nurse’s should act as role models for this change. Interventions to increase nurses’ physical activity need to include these ideas to be effective.

Item Type:	Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)
Depositing User:	EP, Services
Date Deposited:	05 Aug 2011 12:21
Last Modified:	21 Mar 2022 16:09
URI:	https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/24788

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