Factors Influencing Health Promotion Behavior of Undergraduate Students at Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai Campus

Abstract

     The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of health promotion behavior and the factors influencing health promotion behavior of undergraduate students at the Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai campus. The sample consisted of 400 students for the 2009 academic year. Tools for measuring the health promotion behavior were questionnaires and a semi-structured interview. Data were analyzed using statistical methods comprising frequency, percentage, mean, and multiple linear regression. Interview data were analyzed by content analysis. The results revealed that the overall mean health promotion behavior of the undergraduate students was at a high level. In addition, the results from multiple linear regression analysis indicated that predisposing factors, reinforcing factors, and enabling factors had statistically significant influence on health promotion behavior at the .01 level. These factors accounted for 23.3 percent of health promotion behavior. Among these factors, there were 5 variables that were able to predict the health promotion behavior significantly: receiving of information from the media, the policy of health promotion behavior, health advice from other persons, the perception of health status, and sex.