[Comparison of Stages of Physical Activity Among Nurses, Physicians, and Allied Healthcare Professionals]

Despite the fact that regular physical activity is known to improve physical health and reduce absenteeism and perceived job strain, healthcare professionals currently perform inadequate physical activity.

To understand and compare the differences in stages of physical activity among nurses, physicians, and allied healthcare professionals.

A cross-sectional questionnaire was used to survey nurses, physicians, and allied healthcare professionals who worked at four branches of a hospital in Taiwan. Data were collected using the physical activity stage of change questionnire. Data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, Chi-square test of homogeneity of proportions and a posteriori comaparisons, and multinominal logistic regression analysis.

Of the 3,260 questionnaires administrated, 2,001 valid questionnaires were returned for an effective response rate of 61.4%. In total, 1,497 (74.8%) of the nurses, 241 (12.0%) of the physicians, and 263 (13.1%) of the allied healthcare professionals completed the questionnaire. The results revealed that most of the physicans and allied healthcare professionals were in the preparation stage, while most of the nurses were in the precontemplation stage. Multinominal logistic regression analyses showed that, using the precontemplation stage as a reference value, the odds of being in the contemplation stage were lower among participants who were nurses or male or who had a master's or doctoral degree (p < .05). Further, the odds of being in the preparation stage were lower among nurses (p < .01). The odds of being in the maintenance stage were higher among participants that: lived in the Taitung area, were male, or were single (p < .01).

The findings provide valuable references for future hospital leaders to develop effective individual physical activity programs for healthcare professionals.