Effectiveness of an Interpersonal Influence Intervention to Increase Commitment to Adopt Health-Promoting Behavior in Nursing Students

Abstract

Rosa Nury Zambrano Bermeo,1 Catalina Estrada González,2 Eugenia del Pilar Herrera Guerra3 1School of Health, Universidad Santiago de Cali, Cali, Colombia; 2School of Health Sciences, Research Group EPICRITICA, Universidad Libre, Seccional Cali, Cali, Colombia; 3School of Health Sciences, Universidad de Córdoba, Montería, ColombiaCorrespondence: Rosa Nury Zambrano Bermeo, School of Health, Universidad Santiago de Cali, Calle 5 # 62-00, Cali Valle del Cauca, Cali, 760032, Colombia, Tel [phone], Email [email protected]: To determine the efficacy of the “interpersonal influence intervention” conducted by health professionals to increase the commitment to adopt health-promoting behavior in nursing students compared to the usual care of a university wellness program.Patients and Methods: A quasi-experimental study was performed. The study included 114 nursing students from a university in Cali, Colombia, who were divided into a control group (n = 57) that received usual care and an experimental group (n = 57) that received the intervention designed and validated according to Nola Pender’s Health Promotion Model. The main outcome was the lifestyle measured before and after the test using the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II Spanish version. The effect of the intervention was carried out through the average comparison, effect size measures were calculated using Cohen’s d and analysis of the effect of possible confounding variables on the intervention (ANCOVA).Results: A statistically significant difference was observed between the experimental group and the control group (p = 0.015; 95% CI − 0.42, − 0.05). The effect size of the intervention was 0.49. The interpersonal influences exhibited by health professionals can increase the commitment to adopt health-promoting behaviors (Hypothesis 1), and the greater the commitment to a specific action plan, the more likely it is that health-promoting behaviors will be maintained over time (Hypothesis 2).Conclusion: The effectiveness of the intervention interpersonal influences exerted by health professionals to increase the commitment to adopt health-promoting behavior is proven. Evidence demonstrates the practical utility of the Health Promotion Model.Keywords: healthy lifestyle, health promotion, students’ health, interpersonal relations

Keywords

• healthy lifestyle
• health promotion
• students’ health
• interpersonal relations