Physical Activity Habits of Latvian Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

It is important to integrate knowledge about the need for physical activities (PA) in the prevention and care of human health in nursing study programs so that nurses can promote PA among their patients. This study aims to evaluate the PA habits of Latvian nursing students. Participants were students of three universities in Latvia who were enrolled in a four-year bachelor study program, “Nursing”, with a total of 341 after the data cleaning (population size n = 1554). The questionnaire contained questions about sociodemographic variables derived from the survey of the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control of Latvia “Health Behaviour among Latvian Adult Population”, habits of PA, and International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form. The data were collected between September and November 2021. Both descriptive and inferential statistics (difference between groups, correlation, and association tests) were calculated to analyse the data. Of the study population, 39% did not reach the minimum WHO-recommended PA. Increased PA level in the later study years is related to more frequent engagement in work and fewer table activities in the curriculum study process, but the higher intensity and total PA could be related to the specifics of nurse and nurse assistant work, which could be especially intense due to the overloaded health care system during the COVID-19 pandemic.