Factors Influencing University Staff Health-Promoting Lifestyle Behaviours in Nigeria: A Qualitative Descriptive Study

Introduction: The role of health promoting-lifestyle in the prevention of noncommunicable diseases that is global epidemics cannot be emphasis. This study examined resources available in a university that enhance and maintain health-promoting lifestyle behaviour of staff and explore factors influencing health-promoting lifestyle behaviour of staff.

Methods: The study adopted a qualitative descriptive study design. The study setting was a university with multiple satellite campuses and a staff total of 2,657 at the time of data collection. Data were collected from both academic and non-academic staff of the university through in-depth interviews. Data were analysed using content analysis and Nvivo version 11 was used for data management.

Results: Health promotion resources available in the institution were a health facility, a nutritional facility and a physical and fitness facility. The findings revealed that factors influencing health-promoting lifestyle behaviour of staff were lack of institutional health policy and protocol, work overload, lack of planned and consistent health promotion awareness, and economic factors. The majority of our participants did not see health facilities as a means of health promotion; instead they saw it as a resource to be used when they were sick rather than for health promotion services like health screening.

Conclusion: The study concluded that institutional health policy and protocol is key in improving the health of workers. Healthy workers made a healthy institution and for institutional aim to be achieved, workers need to be healthy. Therefore, emphasis should be placed on preventive management than curative management.