Regular physical activity is related to many factors in a university student’s environment. The coronavirus pandemic and the resulting lockdown have restricted many elements of our environment. The aim of this study was to evaluate students’ physical activity and sedentary behaviour at two points in time: before and during the coronavirus lockdown. As a secondary aim, we also wanted to look at changes resulting from other factors (alcohol, tobacco, diet, stages of change, symptoms of anxiety/depression and sociodemographic characteristics). We conducted an observational, cross-sectional, pre-post study with two cut-off points. Two hundred and thirteen students took part in the study. The main dependent variables were physical activity and sitting time, measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire—Short Form (IPAQ-SF). Parametric and non-parametric tests were used for paired and unpaired data, as well as group-stratified analysis. During lockdown, both weekly physical activity (MD: −159.87; CI: −100.44, −219.31) and weekly sitting time increased (MD: −106.76; CI: −71.85, −141.67). In the group analysis, differences were observed in relation to gender, year of study, BMI, alcohol consumption, tobacco use, symptoms of anxiety/depression, Mediterranean diet, living situation and stage of change. The results showed an increase in both physical activity and sitting time globally and by group.

The prevalence of poor sleep quality among students is very high and, in nursing students, has been associated with reduced performance, behavioral changes, dietary changes, and even aggressive behavior due to changes in sleep patterns. The lockdown in response to COVID-19 may have resulted in lifestyle changes that affected sleep quality. For this reason, the objective of this study is to determine the difference in nursing students’ sleep quality before and during the lockdown, put in place in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. To meet this objective, we conducted a longitudinal observational study on 207 nursing students, with two cut-off points (February and April). The main dependent variable was sleep quality, measured using the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) and its seven components. Parametric and nonparametric tests were used for paired and unpaired data, as well as group-stratified analysis. The mean time students spent in bed was 7.6 h (standard deviation (SD) = 1.1 h) before lockdown and 8.5 h (SD = 1.2 h) during lockdown. The PSQI score got 0.91 points worse during lockdown (95% CI, −0.51, −1.31). Of the five components, five were statistically significantly affected (p ≤ 0.05), and of these, the most changed were sleep latency, sleep duration, and sleep efficiency. When stratified by group, we observed differences in women, first-year students, second-year students, alcohol consumers, those of normal weight, and those that live with family. The main conclusion is that although students spent more time in bed, overall sleep quality was worse during lockdown, as well as being worse in five of the seven components.

The prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing in our society, with a complex, multifactorial origin, and associated with greater morbidity and mortality in the population. Food addiction (FA) is a common disorder in overweight/obese people, which appears to be increasingly common in young people. This study analyzed food addiction in a group of young university students and to examine its association with body composition, quality of sleep, adherence to the Mediterranean diet, physical activity/sedentary habits, tobacco or alcohol consumption, and health status. A total of 536 undergraduate nursing students participated in a questionnaire that included the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS 2.0). Up to 6.4% of the students presented FA. Statistically significant associations were observed in the variables for sleep quality odds ratio (OR) 4.8 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.66–13.87), anxiety/depression OR 8.71 (95% CI: 3.93–19.27), body mass index (BMI) OR 8.32 (95% CI: 3.81–18.15) and sedentary lifestyle OR 2.33 (95% CI: 1.09–5.01). A predictive model was developed after binary logistic regression (area under the ROC curve 0.84 (95% CI: 0.77–0.91). Students with FA presented higher BMI values, worse sleep quality, anxiety or depression problems, and more time spent in sedentary behaviors.

Healthy aging makes the practice of physical activity (PA) a necessity. However, PA guidelines achievement in older adults is scarce. The use of behavioral theories such as Transtheoretical Model (TTM), helps in older adults PA promotion. The aim of this review was to identify the use of TTM for PA in older adults (>60 years). PubMed, SPORTdiscus, and Medline databases were used to conduct the search. All steps of the process followed the recommendations of the PRISMA flow-diagram. We identified eight studies: Six were descriptive cross-sectional studies, one prospective-cohort study and one with a quasi-experimental design. Only two papers evaluated the four behavior change dimensions within the same study, three evaluated the processes of change and the decisional balance, four evaluated the exercise self-efficacy and all assessed the stages of change for PA behavior. From this review, we can conclude that TTM is a useful and suitable behavior model in creating, developing, and evaluating interventions with the aim of acquiring and improving PA habits in the older adults. However, there is paucity of research in this area, and more studies including the four behavioral change dimensions are needed to analyze the effect of TTM on the promotion of PA in the older adults.

Background During the COVID‐19 pandemic health crisis, in some countries such as Spain, nursing students have offered to provide health assistance, but the role they have played, their degree of preparedness to face the situation, and what must be improved in their training to be ready for these situations is unknown. Objective Describe the experience and perceptions of students of the Nursing university degree during their participation as health support in the COVID‐19 health crisis in Spain. Design We conducted a cross‐sectional survey study. Method 503 students enrolled in the 4th course of the Nursing degree in Spain during the months of March and April 2020. An online questionnaire was developed, based on a pilot study and distributed through the Nursing Association, students’ unions and students’ associations. Variables were used to describe their participation, degree of preparedness and training needs to determine how to improve training through descriptive statistics, as well as nonparametric tests to analyse the relationship between training and degree of preparedness nursing students. Results are reported according to the STROBE Statement. Results 73.2% (368) of students offered to participate in healthcare aid, of which 225 were actively involved. 27.8% carried out nursing tasks without supervision, and 47.7% assisted COVID‐19 patients as any other nurse. Only 3.4% felt very prepared to work in the field of intensive care, finding that those students who perceived a higher degree of preparedness had received previous training in personal protective equipment and mechanical ventilation ( p < 0.005). The highest scores for training activities that may improve their preparedness were simulations to improve levels of anxiety and stress when managing critical patients, simulation in ventilatory support and mandatory practices in services where ventilators are used. Conclusions Although three out of four students were willing to provide health assistance, they recognise that they were not specially prepared in the field of intensive care and demand training with simulation to improve anxiety and stress levels in the management of critical patients and simulation in ventilatory support. Relevance to clinical practice Students have been vital resources for our health system and society when they have been needed. It is now up to us, both teachers and health authorities, to share their efforts by implementing the necessary improvements in training and safety measures not only because these affects the health and safety of the patient, but because they will be essential parts in future pandemics.

In the early stages of the 2019 coronavirus pandemic in Spain, the Spanish health system was overwhelmed, mainly due to a lack of personnel, and many hospital centers collapsed by following avalanche of patients with COVID-19; this meant that the National System of Health called for fourth-year nursing students to come to the hospital as health care personnel. Our aim was to describe the perceptions and experiences of a sample of nursing students during the early stages of the outbreak. We conducted a qualitative study with an empirical-phenomenological approach. Twenty nursing students in their final year of study in Spain were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling. They participated in in-depth interviews between 20 April and 10 May 2020. The interviews were transcribed and then analyzed using Haase’s adaptation of Colaizzi’s phenomenological method. Four main themes emerged from data analysis: “social responsibility and pride as a health worker”, “pressure caused by working with COVID-19 patients”, “feeling defenseless and let down”, and “personal growth as a health worker”. These main themes were further divided into 11 theme categories. Due to an intense work day for several days in a row, the students were tired and mentally exhausted. Even so, they managed to overcome any difficulties, demonstrating their professional dedication and resilience. Greater preparatory support should be provided to safeguard the well-being of these future healthcare providers. More intensive preparatory training is necessary for health sciences students to facilitate crisis preparedness and effective crisis management. It is necessary to implement support from healthcare systems, including sufficient personal protective equipment, as well as contracts that accurately reflect the work they do. It is necessary for nursing supervisors to have effective communication in the performance of their functions with nursing students; this dialogue helps to clearly explain which are the functions that students must perform when they are carrying out their internships. There is also a need for preparatory training in managing infectious diseases such as COVID-19.

Background: Considering the extensive debate that is currently taking place in Spain regarding euthanasia, it is important to examine the attitude of professionals who perform most of their duties at the bedside of these patients and their families. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to present an adaptation and validation of the Euthanasia Attitude Scale and to evaluate its psychometric properties among a sample of nursing students in Spain. Research design: A cross-sectional study design was conducted. Participants and research context: Non-probabilistic sampling was used to recruit 396 Spanish nursing students. Methods: A self-report questionnaire, including socio-demographic data and the Euthanasia Attitude Scale, were used for data collection. The psychometric properties of the Euthanasia Attitude Scale were assessed, including reliability and validity. Fit indices of the overall model were computed. Ethical considerations: This study was approved by the Hospital Ethical Committee. Students were informed of the aims and procedures and provided written informed consent prior to data collection. Results: The factorial solution comprised four domains and the scale demonstrated adequate internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = .878). For the exploratory factor analysis, the Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin index of sampling adequacy was .905 and the Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity was 2972.79 (p < .001). The initial factorial solution revealed four factors with eigenvalues of 6.78 for the first factor, 1.90 for the second one, 1.29 for the third, and 1.10 for the fourth factor. Moreover, there was a significant relationship between religiosity and the domains of the Euthanasia Attitude Scale. Discussion: This study obtained a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of .88 which is in consonance with the findings reported by other studies whereby none of the items were removed and the initial structure based on four domains was conserved, with a factorial solution that explains 52.79% of the total variance. The displacement of some items of the domain may be explained by certain religious and/or cultural components as, in accordance with other studies, people with firm religious beliefs are more inclined to refuse euthanasia. Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, the Euthanasia Attitude Scale is a reliable and valid instrument to measure the attitudes toward euthanasia in a sample of Spanish nursing students. This Spanish adaptation will be valuable in future studies examining the attitude and implication of nurses, understanding that nurses are key figures in the euthanasia debate.

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