Abstract

Purpose: Environmental hormones are known to affect women"s health, inducing endocrine imbalances and reproductive health issues. As college students live more independently, they consume more fast food, disposable products, and convenient household items, which exposes them to more environmental hormones. Protecting women"s reproductive health is crucial for the succession of health to the next generation. This study examined the factors associated with risk behaviors for exposure to endocrine disruptors in female college students in Korea.

Methods: A cross-sectional correlative study was designed by using a questionnaire survey. The major variables were 1) the predisposing factors of 'interest in health concerns', 'concern about endocrine disruptors', ‘perception of endocrine disruptors related to female reproductive health" ; 2) the reinforcing factors of ‘menstrual problems', "self-appraisal of exposure to endocrine disruptors", ‘need for information on endocrine disruptors"; and 3) the enabling factors of ‘participation in pro-environmental activity', and 'pro-environmental lifestyle". The outcome variable was ‘risk behaviors for exposure to endocrine disruptors". Data were collected from September to October in 2015. A total of 199 female college students in Korea voluntarily participated.

Results: Based on the PRECEDE conceptual framework of the study, the influences of the factors on risk behaviors for exposure to endocrine disruptors were analyzed by a hierarchical regression. In the first step, demographics explained 11.7% (F=27.3, p<.001) of the variance of the risk behaviors of exposure to endocrine disruptors. The second step showed an additional 20.1% variance (F=23.1, p<.001) by adding the predisposing factors. In the third step, reinforcing factors markedly increased the explained variance to 55.4% (F=36.1, p<.001), which added 24.7% more. Finally, by adding the enabling factors, 61.7% (F=36.4, p<.001) of the variance was explained.

Conclusion: Women with less sense of need for information about endocrine disruptors and a poor pro-environmental lifestyle engage in more risk behaviors for exposure to endocrine disruptors. Education should include practical information about environmental hormones and should focus on leading young women to a pro-environmental lifestyle.

Description

This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education(NRF-2015R1D1A3A01017746)

Author Details

SoMi Park, PhD, RN; ChaeWeon Chung

Sigma Membership

Lambda Alpha at-Large

Type

Poster

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

N/A

Research Approach

N/A

Keywords:

Behavior, Endocrine Disruptors, Woman

Conference Name

28th International Nursing Research Congress

Conference Host

Sigma Theta Tau International

Conference Location

Dublin, Ireland

Conference Year

2017

Rights Holder

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All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

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Factors of risk behaviors for exposure to endocrine disruptors in female college students in Korea

Dublin, Ireland

Purpose: Environmental hormones are known to affect women"s health, inducing endocrine imbalances and reproductive health issues. As college students live more independently, they consume more fast food, disposable products, and convenient household items, which exposes them to more environmental hormones. Protecting women"s reproductive health is crucial for the succession of health to the next generation. This study examined the factors associated with risk behaviors for exposure to endocrine disruptors in female college students in Korea.

Methods: A cross-sectional correlative study was designed by using a questionnaire survey. The major variables were 1) the predisposing factors of 'interest in health concerns', 'concern about endocrine disruptors', ‘perception of endocrine disruptors related to female reproductive health" ; 2) the reinforcing factors of ‘menstrual problems', "self-appraisal of exposure to endocrine disruptors", ‘need for information on endocrine disruptors"; and 3) the enabling factors of ‘participation in pro-environmental activity', and 'pro-environmental lifestyle". The outcome variable was ‘risk behaviors for exposure to endocrine disruptors". Data were collected from September to October in 2015. A total of 199 female college students in Korea voluntarily participated.

Results: Based on the PRECEDE conceptual framework of the study, the influences of the factors on risk behaviors for exposure to endocrine disruptors were analyzed by a hierarchical regression. In the first step, demographics explained 11.7% (F=27.3, p<.001) of the variance of the risk behaviors of exposure to endocrine disruptors. The second step showed an additional 20.1% variance (F=23.1, p<.001) by adding the predisposing factors. In the third step, reinforcing factors markedly increased the explained variance to 55.4% (F=36.1, p<.001), which added 24.7% more. Finally, by adding the enabling factors, 61.7% (F=36.4, p<.001) of the variance was explained.

Conclusion: Women with less sense of need for information about endocrine disruptors and a poor pro-environmental lifestyle engage in more risk behaviors for exposure to endocrine disruptors. Education should include practical information about environmental hormones and should focus on leading young women to a pro-environmental lifestyle.