Nurses’ Attitudes to HealthNurses are the largest professional group within healthcare and are often viewed as public role models and health advocates (Smith and Legget 2007). This view rests on the assumption that nurses will have positive attitudes towards health, be better at self care and effective at promoting healthy lifestyle choices to others. This however, is not necessarily so with studies revealing that some nurses regularly engage in unhealthy practices that can compromise their ability and desire to promote healthy lifestyles (Smith and Legget 2007; Purcell et al 2006). There are a limited number of studies that have sought to explore nurses’ attitudes towards health and those that have tend to focus on attitudes towards specific health related behaviours and not on the measurement of health attitudes generally (Aalto et al 2005; McCann et al 2005; Clark et al 2004; Callaghan 1999; Nagle et al 1999). In light of this and the privileged position of nurses to act as health advocates, a greater understanding of nurses’ attitudes towards health is essential for successful implementation of primary prevention strategies. Furthermore, an understanding of student nurses’ attitudes may be useful in designing curriculum to assist in shaping graduates’ health attitudes.Factors Influencing Societal Health AttitudesAttitudes are multidimensional and influenced by a broad range of factors, with a review of the literature highlighting the following factors as possible key influences.Age: Studies have found younger people are less concerned about future health issues than their senior counterparts. For example, a study has shown younger cohorts (<34 yrs and 35‑54 yrs) believed they were unlikely to experience health hazards, such as blood pressure or heart disease, when compared to people aged 55 or over (Petrovici and Ritson 2006). Another study found experimental involvement in many health threatening activities was regarded as less harmful by teenagers than by adult parents (Cohn et al 1995).
Gender: Men are more likely than women to engage in behaviours that increase the risk of disease, injury and death and they are more likely to adopt attitudes that undermine their health and wellbeing (Courtenay 2003). Women report higher levels of depression,
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