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How healthy are our nurses?: new and registered nurses compared

Malik, Sumaira; Blake, Holly; Batt, Mark

Authors

Sumaira Malik

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HOLLY BLAKE holly.blake@nottingham.ac.uk
Professor of Behavioural Medicine

Mark Batt



Abstract

This study examined the health behaviour of nursing staff, comparing registered and pre-registered nurses in terms of their self-reported health and lifestyle behaviour. In total, 325 pre-registered nurses and 551 registered nurses, based at the same university teaching hospital and located within an acute NHS trust, completed a self-administered health and lifestyle questionnaire survey. With the exception of smoking behaviour, registered nurses generally had a healthier lifestyle compared with pre-registered nurses. However, when examining the overall health profile of the sample, the study reveals that there is room for improvement in the health and lifestyle behaviour exhibited by both registered and pre-registered nurses. Almost half of the sample failed to meet public health recommendations for levels of physical activity, almost two-thirds did not consume five portions of fruit or vegetables daily and almost half ate foods that were high in fat and sugar content on a daily basis. These findings are alarming given the current government emphasis on the health of NHS staff and the important role that nurses play in influencing lifestyle choices among their patients. There is an urgent need to target education and support services to improve the diet and exercise habits of nursing professionals.

Citation

Malik, S., Blake, H., & Batt, M. (2011). How healthy are our nurses?: new and registered nurses compared. British Journal of Nursing, 20(8), (489-496). doi:10.12968/bjon.2011.20.8.489. ISSN 0966-0461

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 1, 2011
Publication Date Apr 27, 2011
Deposit Date Oct 10, 2018
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal British Journal of Nursing
Print ISSN 0966-0461
Electronic ISSN 2052-2819
Publisher Mark Allen Healthcare
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 20
Issue 8
Pages 489-496
DOI https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2011.20.8.489
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1157064
Publisher URL https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/10.12968/bjon.2011.20.8.489
Additional Information This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in British Journal of Nursing, copyright © MA Healthcare, after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/10.12968/bjon.2011.20.8.489.

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