Health educator believability and college student self-rated health
Keith J Zullig1, Bill Reger-Nash, Robert F Valois
1Department of Community Medicine, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506-9190, USA. kzullig@hsc.wvu.edu
Objective:
To evaluate the self-rated health (SRH) status among college students who reported receiving the majority of their health-related information from health educators.
Participants:
Students (n = 49,921) who completed the 2006 National College Health Association survey.
Methods:
Bivariate associations between SRH and the believability of health information received were analyzed. Multiple logistic regression tested the relationship after covariate adjustment.
Results:
Although a modest correlation (r = .06, p < .0001) existed between the variables, SRH declined as the believability of health information received from health educators ratings became increasingly unfavorable (χ(2) = 110.96, p < .0001). After covariate adjustment, the relationship persisted with increased odds of reporting fair/poor health for those who reported the health information received from health educators as "neutral" (odds ratio [OR] = 1.31) or "unbelievable" (OR = 2.25) when compared to those who reported the health information received as "believable" (p < .0001).
Conclusions:
The field of health education, and health educators, may positively influence college student SRH.
Related Concept Videos
Self-Efficacy
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification
Self-Esteem
Sources of Self-Esteem II: Performance Feedback
Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention I
The health belief model (HBM) attempts to predict health-related behavior in specific belief patterns. According to the HBM, a person's...
Concepts of Health and Illness
