The role of the teacher in forming a healthy lifestyle in future doctors in the conditions of war

Abstract

In recent years, morbidity and mortality rates among the population have increased in Ukraine. The fact that the specific weight of chronic forms of diseases has increased is particularly worrying. Equally important is the awareness of the essence of a healthy lifestyle, as purposeful actions aimed at preserving health. It has been proven that a healthy lifestyle includes a rational diet, maintaining optimal physical activity, control of bad habits and avoiding stress. Therefore, the teacher's work on forming motivation to follow a healthy lifestyle is extremely important, since this goal can be achieved by example and educational work. The purpose of this study was to determine the teacher's influence on the formation of motivation to maintain a healthy lifestyle during wartime. Materials and methods. To achieve the established purpose of the study, a survey was conducted among students of Kharkiv National Medical University (38 students), medical faculty of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (35 students) and I. Ya. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University (29 respondents). In total, 102 respondents aged 17 to 22 were interviewed, of whom 58 were girls and 44 were boys. In order to conduct the survey, standardized questionnaires were developed “under the following requirements: to take into account the objectives of the survey and the specificity of the contingent of respondents; to use a simple questionnaire structure (preamble, general information about the respondent, characteristics of his health, clarification questions); to maintain the interest in the survey by compliance with the requirements for the number (in our case, 20 questions) and the quality of the proposed questions (clear, concise, correct and understandable), which can ultimately allow respondents not to spend too much time filling out the questionnaire; to avoid direct questions where possible; to take into account the subjectivity of respondents' answers, and in part, their secrecy by using “filter questions” that help to reveal the reliability of assessments; if possible, to offer to choose a single answer option that reflects (if necessary, their ascending or descending hierarchy) possible changes in the parameters of the studied quantities (results, phenomena, processes)”. Results. After analyzing students' answers about the teacher's role in the formation of a healthy lifestyle, the majority noted that the teachers conducted explanatory work by visually demonstrating the positive impact of such a lifestyle, highlighting the negative role of bad habits and the consequences of their influence. Also, role-playing games were used to form healthy lifestyle skills and discussion clubs about healthy nutrition, support of student self-government in conducting activities to popularize sports (holding sports games, sports days, etc.). This study complements already existing works and expands general ideas about the extent of the teacher's influence on the formation of students' motivation to follow a healthy lifestyle. The leading way in which this was carried out was the support of student projects and research to determine the degree of influence of each of the components of a healthy lifestyle on the human body. At the same time, a whole list of issues remains unresolved, the main of which is the creation of an appropriate legislative framework that would regulate ensuring the formation of healthy lifestyle skills among the population, the absence of a state policy on ensuring healthy living conditions and student education, and the lack of systematic work on the formation of a healthy lifestyle. In addition, the lack of regular positive social advertising and the absence of a healthy lifestyle in the information space, as well as the underdevelopment of the system of returning to a healthy lifestyle, in particular discrimination and stigmatization of certain target groups of students who lead an unhealthy lifestyle, are clearly visible. Conclusions. Based on the obtained research data, it can be concluded that it is extremely important to work with the population starting from a young age for the formation of healthy lifestyle skills, regular educational work among students of higher education, visual demonstration by teachers of its benefits and highlighting with examples of harm to body from harmful habits (drug addiction, smoking, alcohol abuse). It is also beneficial to help and support in the transition to a healthy lifestyle for those students who did not follow it before.