HEALTH RISK COMMUNICATION, AWARENESS AND COMPLIANCE WITH PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES TOWARDS BAD CHOLESTEROL BUILD-UP AMONG SEDENTARY WORKERS IN UNIVERSITIES IN SOUTH-EAST NIGERIA

Prof. Allen Nnawuba Adum, Chibuike Julius Nwosu

Abstract


The challenges posed by sedentary behavior, especially in the 21st century, where the nature of people’s work entail sitting for long hours is increasingly becoming worrisome. The more they sit, the more their health is affected. Extant literature has shown that sedentary lifestyle is associated with a number of health issues; prominent among these health issues is cholesterol build-up, also referred to as hypercholesterolemia – this condition is no doubt hazardous to health. This study therefore carried out investigation into the awareness and compliance with precautionary measures towards bad cholesterol build-up among sedentary in universities in South-East, Nigeria. The study made use of survey research design. The sample size of 609 was randomly chosen using the Krecie and Morgan sampling procedure. Anchored on Health Belief Model, the studies found out the following: sedentary workers in universities in the South East were significantly exposed to health risk communication on bad cholesterol. It also discovered that a good number of them were aware of messages on the health risk of bad cholesterol. Finally, the study showed that sedentary workers in universities in South-East Nigeria did not really comply with precautionary measures they were exposed to reduce the risk of bad cholesterol. The researchers recommended among others that given the inadequate level of adoption of precautionary measures as discovered by this study, bad cholesterol communication among university workers in South-East Nigeria should emphasise adoption of such measures as well as highlight the consequences of failing to do so. This may help persuade the audience to embrace and sustain such health action.

Keywords


Bad cholesterol, Awareness, Exposure, Compliance, Sedentary work

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References


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