Assessment of the Health Behaviours and Value-Based Health Analysis of People Aged 50+ Who Were Hospitalized Due to Cardiovascular Disease

Abstract

Introduction: The basic determinant of healthy behaviour—among other human behaviours—is the fact that it consistently affects health. Nowadays, health behaviour studies are considered to be an important method of measuring the health of a population. Objective: To assess the health behaviours and value-based health analysis of people aged 50+ who were hospitalized due to cardiovascular disease, depending on the selected descriptive variables. Materials and methods: The study was conducted between April 2018 and December 2018 among 411 subjects aged 50+ who were hospitalized due to cardiovascular disease at the Independent Public Health Care Unit in Sanok (Podkarpackie voivodship in Poland). The method used in the study was a diagnostic survey. The study used the authors’ survey questionnaire and two standardized tests: Inventory of Health-Related Behaviour (IHB) and List of Health Criteria (LHC). A statistical analysis was carried out in the R program, version 3.5.1. The obtained results were subjected to thorough statistical analysis using the following tests: Student’s t, Mann–Whitney U, ANOVA, Kruskal–Wallis, Fisher’s Least Significant Difference (LSD), Pearson, and Spearman. Results: The strongest correlation between health status and health behaviours (according to the IHB questionnaire) was in the area of ‘health practices’, while the lowest correlation was found in the areas of ‘correct eating habits’ and ‘preventive behaviours’. Based on the LHC questionnaire, the most important health criteria according to the subjects were ‘not feeling any physical ailments’; ‘having all body parts functional’; ‘feeling well’; ‘eating properly’; and ‘infrequent need of going to the doctor’. A positive correlation was found in the group of respondents where the ‘preventive health behaviours’ were more intense; herein, the more important criterion for the respondents was ‘eating properly’. Conclusions: Respondents aged 50+ and hospitalized for cardiovascular diseases indicated (based on the IHB questionnaire) that health behaviours in the area of ‘health practices’ had the strongest correlation with their health, while the lowest correlation was found in the areas of ‘correct eating habits’ and ‘preventive behaviours’. According to the respondents, the most important criteria determining health (according to the LHC questionnaire) included ’not feeling any physical ailments’; ‘having all body parts functional’; ‘feeling well’; ‘eating properly’; and ‘infrequent need of going to the doctor’. Based on the information collected from the respondents, it was found that the most important criteria determining health depended on selected descriptive variables, such as age, gender, place of residence, education, and marital status.

Age-related risk factors affecting the population morbidity

“…Assessment of health behaviour level and quality allows for educational activities, care, and treatment to older people. However, it should be emphasized that prevention is the key to maintaining and improving health (Isabella Gonska et al, 2021) The aim of the study by Medina Si Jylmaz et al ( 2019) was to identify patterns of healthy lifestyles for older people with chronic diseases. The results show that the lifestyle of older people with diabetes is better than older people diagnosed with cancer and hypertension.…”

Selected Determinants of Health Behaviors of Primary School Teachers in the Kalisz County in Poland

“…There are many definitions and classifications of the term health behaviors in the literature [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]. According to various authors, it should be stated that 'health behaviors' refer to various activities related to the sphere of health, i.e., behaviors that, in the light of modern medical knowledge, usually cause specific (positive or negative) health effects [3,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17].…”

“…The most frequently used categorization focuses on health effects for human health. Two opposing groups of behaviors should, therefore, be distinguished: positive (pro-health) and negative (anti-health) [2,3,4,18,19,20,21].…”

Population Access to Hospital Emergency Departments: The Spatial Analysis in Public Health Research

“…Due to the modern lifestyles people lead, the risk of numerous civilization and social diseases, including those caused by various types of injuries, increases every year. Therefore, it is necessary to shape the health care system in such a way that it would give citizens a sense of security, especially with regard to the pathogenic effects of an accelerating pace of life in the modern world [1,2]. The importance of this type of activities is indicated and proved by their presence in the third goal of the sustainable development programme-2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development [3].…”