The impact of a health education intervention on health behaviors and mental health among Chinese college students

Xu-hao Yang, Hong-jie Yu, Ming-wei Liu, Jie Zhang, Bo-wen Tang, Shuai Yuan, Danijela Gasevic, Pei-gang Wang, Paul Kelly, Qi-qiang He

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to assess the impact of a health education intervention on health behaviors, self-efficacy, and well-being among college students. Participants: Between March and October 2016, a total of 532 undergraduates participated. Methods: A theory-based intervention was conducted at Wuhan University, China. Participants were assigned to a control or intervention group (IG). The IG attended a 7-week health education class on knowledge, attitude, and practice of health behaviors. Results: Participants in the IG, compared with those in the control group (CG), reported significantly increased prevalence of high physical activity and regular breakfast, as well as lower screen time, sugar beverage intake, and Internet addiction tendency. Furthermore, intervention students improved in health behavior scores (p ¼ 0.040), compared with the CG, while the changes in subjective well-being and self-efficacy remained similar between the two groups.
Conclusions: Health education may promote health behaviors among Chinese college students.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-6
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of American College Health
Early online date8 Mar 2019
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 8 Mar 2019

Keywords

  • College students
  • health behaviors
  • health education
  • mental health

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The impact of a health education intervention on health behaviors and mental health among Chinese college students'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this