<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><bold>Introduction</bold>: Early sexual initiation, the phenomenon of promiscuity, and voluntary childlessness are some reasons behind contraception use by women. Health-related behaviors determine the state of human health and are closely related to quality of life. The aim of the study was to analyze the manifestations of pro-health behaviors and to examine their impact on the quality of life in a group of fertile women using any form of contraception.<bold>Materials and methods</bold>: Research material was collected from August 2017 to January 2018 in the West Pomeranian Voivod-ship, from 183 women of childbearing age who had been using contraception. The questionnaire consisted of a author’s part and the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. Statistical analysis used descriptive and analytical methods, such as the Shapiro–Wilk test and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. A structure index containing a percentage was used. The results obtained were statistically analyzed using χ2 test for independent samples. The probability value of p &lt; 0.05 was considered statistically significant.<bold>Results</bold>: Among pro-health behaviors, 80.9% of the women declared that they performed some physical activity at least once a week, 76% stated that their eating habits were correct, 47% went to a gynecologist once a year, 83.6% claimed they regularly performed preventive examinations. The better the subjective assessment of health, the higher the quality of life in the psychological domain (p &lt; 0.001). The better the nutritional habits were assessed, the better the quality of life in the environment domain (p &lt; 0.05). Not using stimulants had a positive impact on the quality of life in the physical health domain (p &lt; 0.05). A rise in the frequency of follow-up visits to a gynecologist led to a rise in the quality of life in social relationships and physical health domains (p &lt; 0.05).<bold>Conclusions</bold>: The manifestation of pro-health behaviors in women of childbearing age who use contraception has a positive influence on the quality of their lives in almost all the domains. The overriding purpose of pro-health education is to strengthen the actions of women who display healthy behaviors and, in the case of those exposed to a reduced quality of life due to unhealthy practices, conduct intervention and preventive actions while respecting the woman’s individual biopsychosocial needs.</abstract>

Introduction: Early sexual initiation, the phenomenon of promiscuity, and voluntary childlessness are some reasons behind contraception use by women. Health-related behaviors determine the state of human health and are closely related to quality of life. The aim of the study was to analyze the manifestations of pro-health behaviors and to examine their impact on the quality of life in a group of fertile women using any form of contraception.Materials and methods: Research material was collected from August 2017 to January 2018 in the West Pomeranian Voivod-ship, from 183 women of childbearing age who had been using contraception. The questionnaire consisted of a author’s part and the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. Statistical analysis used descriptive and analytical methods, such as the Shapiro–Wilk test and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. A structure index containing a percentage was used. The results obtained were statistically analyzed using χ2 test for independent samples. The probability value of p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: Among pro-health behaviors, 80.9% of the women declared that they performed some physical activity at least once a week, 76% stated that their eating habits were correct, 47% went to a gynecologist once a year, 83.6% claimed they regularly performed preventive examinations. The better the subjective assessment of health, the higher the quality of life in the psychological domain (p < 0.001). The better the nutritional habits were assessed, the better the quality of life in the environment domain (p < 0.05). Not using stimulants had a positive impact on the quality of life in the physical health domain (p < 0.05). A rise in the frequency of follow-up visits to a gynecologist led to a rise in the quality of life in social relationships and physical health domains (p < 0.05).Conclusions: The manifestation of pro-health behaviors in women of childbearing age who use contraception has a positive influence on the quality of their lives in almost all the domains. The overriding purpose of pro-health education is to strengthen the actions of women who display healthy behaviors and, in the case of those exposed to a reduced quality of life due to unhealthy practices, conduct intervention and preventive actions while respecting the woman’s individual biopsychosocial needs.

Health behaviors and quality of life in fertile women using contraception

Chair and Department of Gynecology and Reproductive Health

Pomeranian Journal of Life Sciences

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Health behaviors and quality of life in fertile women using contraception"}

Introduction: Early sexual initiation, the phenomenon of promiscuity, and voluntary childlessness are some reasons behind contraception use by women....

Health behaviors and quality of life in fertile women using contraception

Published Online: Sep 24, 2019

Page range: 71 - 81

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21164/pomjlifesci.613

Keywords
health promotion, quality of life, contraception, counseling

© 2020 Joanna Błażejewska et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Health behaviors and quality of life in fertile women using contraception

Published Online: Sep 24, 2019

Page range: 71 - 81

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21164/pomjlifesci.613

Keywordshealth promotion, quality of life, contraception, counseling

© 2020 Joanna Błażejewska et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
health promotion, quality of life, contraception, counseling