Health determinants in adults in Chimbote, Peru: A descriptive study

To describe health determinants in adults from the jurisdictions of the North and South Pacific Health Networks in the city of Chimbote.

A non-controlled descriptive study was carried out. Health determinants were classified in the following categories: bio-socioeconomic characteristics, lifestyle, and social and community support. For the descriptive analysis of categorical variables, relative and absolute frequencies were used.

A total of 1 496 adults were included in the study. In the bio-socioeconomic determinants category, 62.2% were women and 53.3% were older adults. In the lifestyle determinants category, 52.4% did not smoke and had not ever smoked regularly, 50.5% did not consume alcoholic bever-ages, and 66.9% had 6 to 8 hours of sleep. In the social/community support determinants category, 53% had been treated at a health facility in the previous 12 months, 47.5% considered the distance between the health facility where they were treated and their home to be average, and 64.6% had public health insurance (SIS) from Perus Ministry of Health (MINSA).

Most participants completed high school but this level of education did not result in access to higher-scale salaries. In addition, most partici-pants owned their own homes as well as access to basic services but lived in overcrowded conditions. A sedentary lifestyle and high-carbohydrate diet were predominant in this sample, highlighting the need for education to improve health.