Personal and Social Determinants of Health Promoting Behavior of School going Adolescents in Pokhara, Nepal

BackgroundHealth-promoting lifestyle choices of adolescents are closely related to current and subsequent health status. Given the lack of understanding among Nepalese adolescents, the study is aimed to examine the health promoting behavior (HPB) and its personal and social determinants among school going adolescents in Pokhara, Nepal. MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 421 adolescents aged 11 to 18 years-old studying in class 6 to 10 of three randomly selected public schools of Pokhara Metropolitan. Structured self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Adolescent Health Promotion Scale - Short Form (AHP-SF), a 21 item Likert-scale was used which consists of six dimensions (nutrition, social support, health responsibility, life appreciation, physical activity, and stress management). Data analysis was done in SPSS 16 applying both descriptive and inferential statistics (linear regression analysis at <0.05 level of significance and 95% confidence interval). ResultsThe mean score of HPB was 62.66{+/-}8.49 and 48.7% adolescents had inadequate level of HPB. Perceived school climate, play ground in school, social gathering, number of friends to play after school, parental concern/supervision, mothers education, and family type determined the HPB. Perceived school climate strongly predicted all the dimensions of HPB: nutrition, social support, health responsibility, life appreciation, stress management and exercise. Individual predictors of each six dimensions of HPB are also identified. ConclusionsSignificant number of adolescents have inadequate HPB. Intervention to adolescents, parents, school and public can be planned focusing on the determinants of HPB identified by this study. The study has important policy and practical implication to enhance HPB and lead to healthful development of adolescent children.