<b>Comparison of healthy lifestyle behaviors of European and Asian nursing students</b>

Résumé

Purpose: To compare the healthy lifestyle behaviors of European and Asian nursing students in order to provide valuable information in terms of revealing the effects of different cultural and socioeconomic structures on health behaviors. Methods: The research is a comparative cross-sectional study with 462 Turkish nursing students and 429 Spanish nursing (N = 891). Data was collected with a questionnaire consisting of 15 socio-demographic questions and the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II. Descriptive statistics and tests of mean differences were carried out on the data collected. Ethical committee permission was obtained in all participating countries.Results: The European nursing students showed healthier lifestyles (134.73 ± 18.62) in comparison with Asians (125.43 ± 21.80; p &lt; .001), especially in spiritual growth (26.20 ± 4.65 vs. 24.60 ± 4.93; p &lt; .001), physical activity (19.00 ± 5.18 vs. 17.27 ± 4.71; p &lt; .001), interpersonal relationships (27.27 ± 4.26 vs. 24.68 ± 4.74; p &lt; .001) and nutrition (23.61 ± 4.14 vs. 19.58 ± 4.01; p &lt; .001). Nevertheless, health responsibility is higher in Asians (20.63 ± 4.72 vs. 20.47 ± 4.05; p = .590) as well as stress management (18.68 ± 3.79 vs. 18.19 ± 3.63; p = .051). Asians smoke a higher number of cigarettes and their body max index is higher while Europeans have a higher alcohol consumption (p &lt; .001).Conclusion: Our study showed that the lifestyle is healthier in European nursing students who live in Spain in comparison with Asian nursing students who live in Turkey. These results show us some areas of intervention to improve lifestyles. In Turkey the smoking cessation, the sports activities and the healthy nutrition have to be promoted while in Spain the decrease in alcohol consumption is the key to have a healthy lifestyle.