Health-related quality of life and self-care practices in nursing students

Abstract

Introduction: health-related quality of life is a broad, multidimensional, and subjective concept that represents the subject's perception of both positive and negative aspects of their physical, psychological, emotional, and social health.  Objective: to analyze health-related quality of life and its relationship with self-care habits in nursing students of a private university in Argentina during the second quarter of 2023. Methods: descriptive, cross-sectional, quantitative study. We surveyed 109 nursing students using the SF-36 health questionnaire. Results: a low prevalence of habits such as smoking (3,67 %), sedentary lifestyle (39,45 %) and low attendance to regular medical consultations (41,28 %) was found. The best rated quality of life scale was Physical Function and the worst rated was Vitality. The summary physical component presented a higher mean than the mental component. Quality of life was associated with gender, marital status, having children, year of study, body mass index and hours of sleep per day. Conclusions: health-related quality of life was assessed as good, except for the vitality dimension. The students' lifestyle was mostly positive and related to physical and mental health. It is necessary to implement actions that promote self-care and the maintenance of quality of life in students.