Building a Culture of Health in Medical University Students as a Task of Public Health

Introduction: The World Health Organization and the national healthcare system consider the deteriorating health of student youth and especially of medical university students as an independent problem of healthcare workforce health maintenance. Health-promoting behavior of medical doctors is the basis for their readiness to counsel patients on risk factors for non-communicable diseases so fostering a sustainable culture of health among future health professionals is of public health importance.

Objective: To develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a complex organizational and hygienic program for building a culture of health among medical university students.

Materials and Methods: To meet the objective, a prospective controlled study was carried out in 2023–2026. At the screening stage, quantitative characteristics of the culture of health were established in 1,117 students to determine target parameters of the program. To assess program effectiveness, intervention and reference groups of 145 students each were created, matched by age, field of study, and the baseline level of the culture of health. The dynamics of four domains of the latter (motivational-value, cognitive (health literacy), behavioral, and reflective-evaluative) were examined using validated methods before and after intervention.

Results: High effectiveness of the program was demonstrated during implementation manifested by a statistical increase in all domains of the culture of health in the intervention group. The proportion of students with its high level in this group rose from 33.0 % to 39.1 % against 11.0–22.2 % in the reference group ( p < 0.01). Initial screening revealed the predominance of a low level of the culture of health that was registered in 47.3 % of the students with only 10.7 % of all participants demonstrating its high level, thus confirming the validity of intervention.

Conclusions: Implementation of a comprehensive organizational and hygienic program based on a four-module structure, a substantiated educational environment design, and the WHO concept of a Health Promoting University ensures a statistically significant increase in the culture of health in medical university students.

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