The Association between Professional Nursing Rank and Physical Activity Level Among Nurses at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria

Ayodeji Fabunmi Oluwafunmilayo Oreoluwa Kajero

Physiotherapy, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State

Background: Physical inactivity is a major leading risk factor for mortality. Studies have revealed that regular physical activity is effective in preventing several non-communicable diseases, such as cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension and obesity. Nurses represent the largest group of health care professionals.

Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the physical activity level and association with professional rank among nurses at the University College Hospital, Ibadan.

Methods: This research was a cross-sectional survey design. A convenience sampling technique was used to select all available and willing nurses. The short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-SF) was used to collect information on the physical activity levels (PAL) of the participants. Socio-demographic data was gathered on Professional Rank. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, frequencies and percentages), and inferential statistics (Chi-square test) were used to test the association between professional rank and physical activity level. The level of significance was set at 0.05.

Results: A total of 230 nurses participated in this study. The mean age of the participants was 40.4 ± 8.2 years. Out of the 230 participants, 174 (75.7%) participants had moderate and low physical activity levels, respectively, with only 56 (24.3%) participants having high PAL. There was no significant association between professional rank and PAL among the nurses (p= 0.447).

Discussion: Walking was the most common PA undertaken by the nurses. One-hundred and four nurses (45.2%) and 118 (51.3%) nurses had participated in vigorous and moderate PA, respectively, for at least 10 minutes in the previous week before the data collection. The various ranks of the nurses did not significantly affect their PAL.

Conclusion: Professional nursing rank did not affect the PAL among the Nurses. Though the rank did not affect the PAL of the participants, there is need for improvement of PAL among nurses, because aajority of the nurses had moderate and low PAL.

Ayodeji Fabunmi

University of Ibadan, Ibadan. Nigeria

I am currently Senior Lecturer with Physiotherapy Department, University of Ibadan and also Specialist Adviser with University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria I started my research interest in Obesity, health implication and body composition measurement. With time my research focus changed to Physical activity and Physical Fitness and I have published a few articles in the area of Physical activity, Sports Physiotherapy and Health Promotion. My research activities have focused on physical activity, physical fitness in health, disease and sports. Specifically, either alone or with co-researchers, I have studied the impacts of physical activity on the general well-being among various age groups, investigated the effects of gender and performance-related physical fitness variables on physical activity. The overall aim was to underscore the important role of physiotherapy in the assessment and provision of necessary intervention towards ameliorating the negative impact of physical inactivity on the health of the populace. I collaborated with other researchers to study epidemiology of obesity among secondary school students (adolescents) and their teachers, with our findings revealing a high prevalence of obesity among the studied groups. This was associated with their low level of physical activity, age and reduced muscle strength. We also evaluated the effects of knowledge and attitude on physical activity. Our results indicated that high knowledge about exercise did not translate to a right attitude and participation in exercise and physical activity. Similarly, I have assessed physical activity level among Physiotherapists (Clinical Physiotherapist and Physiotherapy Educators), stroke survivors and older adults. My research also looked into the effect of knee pain, low back pain on physical activity among patients with knee osteoarthritis and low back pain respectively. The importance of increasing physical activity across different age groups as a strategy to improve the clinical presentations seen in low back, obesity and stroke was established, through my research activities. The pattern of sports injuries in selected sports and the important roles of the physiotherapist in prevention of these injuries by increasing physical fitness training, also received a significant focused attention from my research endeavours. I have the interest of introducing a physical fitness programme tailored towards improving physical activity and physical fitness of elderly in my community where I reside.