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Relationships between health behavior, knowledge, and beliefs among Swedish blue-collar workersDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute and Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden, Correspondence address: G. K. Näslund Dept. of Clinical Neuroscience Karolinska Hospital Z6 SE-171 76 Stockholm Sweden The main objective of this study was to assess the health behavior, risk awareness and beliefs concerning the importance of positive health practices among blue-collar workers, and to examine the relationships between behavior, knowledge and beliefs. Data were gathered from 1359 workers aged 18-65 years using a postal questionnaire to 2493 randomly selected members of two labor unions. A high prevalence of negative health practices was noted among the respondents. While no relationship was found between health behaviors and awareness of risks associated with such behaviors, there was a relationship between positive health practices and strong beliefs about the importance of those practices. Awareness of the influence of a positive behavior on disease risk was associated with a stronger belief concerning the importance of that behavior. Women were characterized by having more positive health behavior, a higher level of risk awareness and stronger beliefs concerning the importance of positive health practices.
Key Words: health behavior health beliefs lifestyle risk awareness gender health promotion.
Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, Vol. 25, No. 2,
100-110 (1997) |
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