Utilizing Pender's Health Promotion Model to Assess Health Risks Among Firefighters in Bulacan, Philippines

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the health status and health-promoting lifestyle practices of firefighters in Bulacan. Employing a descriptive-correlational design, data were collected from 493 personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) across 24 fire stations within the province. Participants included firefighters from 20 municipalities, 4 cities, and the Provincial Office. Data collection involved the administration of a self-administered questionnaire encompassing demographic information, health-related characteristics, and the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP).

The results indicated that 69.8% of the respondents were male, 58.0% were married, and 93.9% had attained a college degree. as all participants were degree holders, meeting BFP's qualification requirement. Health assessments revealed a significant proportion of participants with elevated blood pressure (54.0%), and a smaller subset categorized as hypertensive (13.0%). Body Mass Index (BMI) data indicated that 47.5% of respondents were within the normal weight range, while 39.6% were classified as pre-obese. The study also revealed that the majority (77.3%) exhibited a high waist-hip ratio. Despite these health risks, the participants perceived their health as generally good.

Respondents reported a generally positive perception of their health, with 47.5% rating it as very good and 26.8% as good. The study further analyzed the participants' health behaviors, with a moderate average Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP) score of 141.01.

The findings indicate that perceived health status has weak but significant correlations with age, length of fire service, and HPLP II and its subscales. Specifically, age is weakly correlated with perceived health status, HPLP II, and several subscales, including stress management, nutrition, and physical activity. The strongest relationship was between age and length of fire service (r = 0.867, p < 0.01). Length of fire service shows weak significant correlations with perceived health status and HPLP II physical activity. Additionally, the HPLP II itself has a weak but significant correlation with age and perceived health status, while it shows very strong significant correlations with all six of its subscales (stress management, interpersonal relations, nutrition, physical activity, spiritual growth, and health responsibility).