Transtheoretical model: Application to healthcare executives' attitude and behavior towards health promotion and healthy lifestyle

Background: Healthcare professionals and healthcare executives have been promoting healthy lifestyles such as: physical activity, healthy eating habits, and responsible drug use behavior among the general public. However, little is known about healthcare executives’ healthy lifestyle choices. If healthcare executives are at the forefront of healthy lifestyle changes to hospital protocol, should their attitudes and perceptions of their own health be questioned? The purpose of this study was to determine healthcare executives’ attitudes and behaviors towards healthy lifestyle and their stages of change about their unhealthy behaviors.

Method: A 32-item questionnaire based on transtheoretical model was administered among 158 healthcare executives, with a mean age of 55.83 years (SD= 5.9 years).

Results: The study revealed that a total of 43% of the participants were overweight and 33% were obese. Over 25% of the participants led sedentary lifestyle, 38% reported unhealthy eating behavior, 76% reported stressful lifestyle and 10% reported tobacco use. The participants’ eating behavior significantly correlated to their: stress level, r = 17, p < .05, physical activity behavior, r = 24, p < .01, and tobacco use behavior, r = 18, p < .05. Evaluation of the participants’ stages of change about their unhealthy behavior showed the following results: 8.8% of the participants were at precomtemplation stage, 14.3% at contemplation stage, 30.6% at preparation stage, 27.2% at action stage and 19% at maintenance stage.

Conclusion: While most healthcare executives in the study engage in healthy lifestyle they are promoting, there are a few of them who still make unhealthy lifestyle choices.