Health-related behaviors and associated factors among working older people within a Brazilian public university

Abstract

Abstract Objective To analyze health-related behaviors and associated factors in older people working at a Brazilian public university. Method A cross-sectional, descriptive, inferential study adopting a quantitative approach was conducted. The sample comprised 113 individuals and data were collected between May/2021 and September/2022 either remotely by telephone and/or video calls, and/or in person. Descriptive and cluster analysis were performed and the Chi-square or Fisher's Exact Tests were applied for a significance level of 95%. Results Respondents were predominantly male (n=70, 61.9%), had a mean age of 65 (±3.20) years, and were of white (n=39, 34.5%) or brown (n=38, 33.6%) ethnicity. Two clusters were identified: Cluster01-fair, comprising 31 (27.4%) individuals; and Cluster02-excellent, comprising 82 (72.6%) participants, based on health-related behavior variables. A significant association was found between gender and clusters (p<0.04). Cluster02 contained more males and individuals with better health-related behaviors. Conclusion Although the results revealed that, overall, study participants had good/excellent behaviors, there was a contingent that reported health risk behaviors, highlighting the challenges surrounding self-care in the working older population. It is important to raise awareness of older individuals about health risk behaviors and their impact on health and quality of life, especially given that many older people are providers for the family and that working influences the health of older individuals.