Factors Affecting Health-Promoting Behavior of Undergraduate Students, Ubon Ratchathani University
Mintra Sararuk MEd*, Kitti Laosupap PhD*
Affiliation : * Department of Public Health, College of Medicine and Public Health, Ubon Ratchathani University, Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand
Background : Undergraduate students are going through the transitional period from children to adulthood. Promoting
healthy behavior during this period increases their chances of being healthy in the future.
Objective : To determine the relationships between and among knowledge, attitudes, health promoting values, accessing
health services, receiving health information from the media, and health promoting behavior.
Material and Method: A cross-sectional analytic study with proportionate stratified random sampling was performed on a
sample of 500 undergraduate students from Ubon Ratchathani University. Data were collected between August and September
2015 by using self-reporting questionnaire.
Results : Knowledge and attitudes in a high percentage, 60.2 and 59.6 respectively, health promoting values were moderate
percentage of 89.2, and accessing health services of 90.0, receiving social support from family almost every aspect. Health
promoting behavior was moderate 52.8 percent. Variables which could significantly predict to health-promoting behavior
were corporate attitudes, health promoting values, social support and knowledge about health promotion. The predictors all
together accounted for 12.0 percent of the variance in health-promoting behavior.
Conclusion : These finding suggest that interventions are needed to enhance the practice of health promoting behaviors and
should be focused on attitudes, health promoting values, social support and knowledge about health promotion.
Keywords : Health-promoting behavior, Undergraduate students, Ubon Ratchathani University
