Relationship between health promotion behavior and self-efficacy among young and middle-aged rural residents in Hebei province

Objective To explore the correlation between health promotion behavior and self-efficacy among young and middle-aged rural residents in Hebei province.Methods With random stratified sampling,800 young and middle-aged rural residents in Hebei province were investigated with a health promotion lifestyle scale and self-efficacy scale.The correlation between healthy lifestyle and self-efficacy was evaluated with Pearson product-moment correlation.Results The standardized score of health promotion behavior was 54.52,among which self-actualization ranked the highest(63.48),followed by interpersonal support(61.70),nutrition(60.88),stress management(50.44),health responsibility(43.15),and exercise(40.75).The score of self-efficacy was 22.75±5.92.Pearson product-moment correlation showed that overall health promotion behavior(r=0.182,P=0.000),self-actualization(r=0.208,P=0.000),interpersonal support(r=0.174,P=0.000),nutrition(r=0.125,P=0.001),health responsibility(r=0.110,P=0.004)and stress management(r=0.106,P=0.005) were positively related to the self-efficacy.However the same tendency did not show in the exercise subscale(r=0.015,P=0.702).Conclusion The health promotion behavior among young and middle-aged rural residents in Hebei province is at a medium level,and the self-efficacy is at a low level,with a positive relationship between them suggesting much attention should be paid to the self-efficacy in order to promote health behavior in the population.