Health Behavior and Health and Psychosocial Planning for Retirement among Spanish Health Professionals

Abstract

The aging of the workforce among health professionals demands attention to the study of their health behavior before retirement. The aim of the present study is to analyze the relationships between health planning and psychosocial planning—on the one hand—and health professionals’ health behavior, on the other. In addition, we will study the mediator role of public protection, self-insurance, and self-protection in the relationship between planning and health behavior. The sample includes 169 healthcare professionals from a public hospital in Spain. A serial mediation model estimating all of the parameters simultaneously was tested. The findings have confirmed the relationship between health planning and health behavior, as well as the serial mediation of the behaviors in this relationship. As the main causes of death in the Western world are not transmittable diseases, but cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and other diseases that are closely linked to lifestyle factors, our findings strongly support that we are responsible for our long-term health status and well-being.