Related factors for health behaviors among young students during the pandemic of COVID-19

Abstract

Objective: to analyze factors related to health behaviors among young students during the pandemic of COVID-19. Methods: cross-sectional study conducted with 282 students aged 18 to 24 years from the Federal Network of Vocational and Technological Education. An electronic form and the Adolescent Health Promotion Scale (Brazilian version) instrument were applied for statistical analysis and multiple linear regressions were used. Results: the overall mean of the scale was 3.29 (Standard deviation (SD)=0.56); the subscales ranged from 2.40 (SD=1.0) physical exercise to 3.76 (SD=0.80) valuing life. We identified that the subscale physical exercise and some items of the subscales social support and responsibility for health presented scores below the mean. Conclusion: according to the theoretical model tested, students in technical courses showed a statistically significant negative relationship in the scores of the general health promotion scale. The subscales of social support, responsibility for health and physical exercise showed statistically significant relationships in relation to the variables gender, age group, family income, level of education and health problem. Contributions to practice: nurses should know the factors related to health behaviors among young students to expand and guide actions, contributing to the improvement of student assistance and care for young people.