Benchmarking the health of health sciences students at Kuwait University: a towards a cultue of health

Abstract

Health professional entry-to-practice programmes are intense, competitive and prolonged. The aims of this study were to benchmark the health of health sciences students at Kuwait University, thereby informing student health services, and to establish a base for individual student's health assessments throughout the programmes. We used a convenience sample of 176 students. Assessment included a health/wellness questionnaire (smoking, nutrition, physical activity, sleep and stress) and objective measures (resting heart rate, blood pressure, waist-to-hip ratio and random blood glucose). Students had suboptimal activity, diet, stress and sleep. Health was suboptimal based on significant proportions of students in unhealthy categories for resting heart rate, blood pressure and body composition. Health status of health sciences students at Kuwait University is not consistent with healthy health professionals in training, who should serve as role models for the public. A culture of health on campus is recommended to maximize the health of students and their capacity as health role models. Les programmes de formation des professionnels de la santé sont intenses, compétitifs et longs. La présente étude visait à mesurer la santé des étudiants dans les facultés du Centre de Sciences médicales de l'Université du Koweït, permettant ainsi d'orienter les services de santé étudiante et d'établir des données de référence pour l'évaluation de la santé des étudiants dans l'ensemble des programmes. Nous avons recouru à un échantillon de commodité de 176 étudiants. L'évaluation incluait un questionnaire sur la santé/le bien-être (tabagisme, nutrition, activité physique, sommeil et stress) et des mesures objectives (rythme cardiaque au repos, tension artérielle, rapport taille-hanche, et glycémie aléatoire). Les résultats ont montré que les étudiants avaient des niveaux d'activité, des régimes alimentaires, un niveau de stress et un sommeil suboptimaux. L'état de santé n'était pas optimal pour une proportion importante des étudiants ayant des mauvais résultats pour la composition corporelle, la fréquence cardiaque et la pression artérielle. L'état de santé des étudiants en sciences médicales de l'Université du Koweït ne correspond pas à ce que l'on attend de professionnels de la santé en formation, qui devraient servir de modèle pour le grand public. Une « culture de la santé » sur le campus est recommandée pour améliorer la santé des étudiants et leur capacité à servir de modèle pour les modes de vie sain. ‫صحية‬ ‫ثقافة‬ ‫نحو‬ ‫الكويت

Discordance between lifestyle-related health behaviors and beliefs of urban mainland Chinese: A questionnaire study with implications for targeting health education

“…Therefore, an understanding of the lifestyle-related health behaviors as well as beliefs of mainland Chinese would help inform the design and targeting of education campaigns for preventing NCDs such as stroke. Similar studies have been reported on lifestyle practices and beliefs associated with NCDs, across cultures including Singapore [10], Kuwait [11],[12], and Saudi Arabia [13], and various ethnic groups at risk in Canada including those of Chinese origin and ethnicity [14],[15].…”

“…A structured questionnaire was developed based on previous work conducted in Canada [14],[15] Kuwait [11],[12], Saudi Arabia [13] and Singapore [10]. We conducted the questionnaire by interview to maximize the quality and completeness of the data collection.…”

“…We selected cut-points for recommendations for maximal health status that are established, evidence-based, and commonly reported [12]. These include no amount of smoking is consistent with maximal health [16],[17].…”

Country and Gender-Specific Achievement of Healthy Nutrition and Physical Activity Guidelines: Latent Class Analysis of 6266 University Students in Egypt, Libya, and Palestine

“…Similarly, Libyan adolescents had the highest prevalence of overweight (26.6%) across seven Arab countries [ 8 ]. Likewise, in Kuwait, health sciences students had suboptimal diet [ 9 ]; and, in Lebanon, the prevalence of overweight/obese students was 32.2%, and their dietary consumption was below the recommended guidelines [ 10 ]. In Iran, most students needed to improve their diet (only 28.5% had a good diet) [ 11 ]; and, in the United Arab Emirates, students had a high prevalence of consumption of dietary supplements [ 12 ].…”

“…Likewise, in Libya, few students achieved the recommended PA guidelines, where female students were particularly at risk [ 16 ]; and sedentary lifestyle was common among Libyan adolescents/young adults [ 17 ]. Similarly, in Kuwait, university students had suboptimal PA [ 9 ].…”