| The purpose of this study was to determine, using the revised Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP II), whether public health students follow a health-promoting lifestyle. This is significant because these students are uniquely positioned to serve as role models for the general public once they become public health professionals. This descriptive, observational study used a cross sectional design. Participants were 322 master's level students enrolled in a public health or business program at a private urban university in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States during the Spring 2011 semester. Participants completed an electronic survey anonymously. The demographic information of each subject was gathered, and each subject's lifestyle was assessed with respect to health-promoting behaviors. Two constructs from the Health Promotion Model (HPM) were also assessed: (a) commitment to a plan of action, and (b) immediate competing preferences. Independent t-tests indicated public health students' scores were marginally higher than the scores of business students for overall health-promoting lifestyle as well as the subscales of health responsibility, nutrition, and interpersonal relationships. Though these differences were statistically significant, the difference between groups was minimal. No difference was found in the range of subscale scores on the HPLP II between public health and business students, and public health students were not more likely to have reported that their physical activity had remained the same or increased since beginning their degree program. Lastly, there was no difference in the commitment to a plan of action and immediate competing preferences between public health and business students. Further investigation is needed in order to determine whether public health students are leading a health-promoting lifestyle. |
