Factors Associated with Active Participation in Health Promotion Programs at a Public Health Center

Park, YeunJu; Park, Hyunhee; Ryu, So Yeon

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
We identified factors associated with any participation and with "good participation" (as assessed by frequency of attendance) in health promotion programs at a public health center in Korea.
METHODS
The subjects included 199 women who attended a baseline examination of health promotion programs during the first half of 2009. We collected data by structured interviews and physical examinations. Participation status was quantified by the frequency of attendance to the program. We classified the subjects as non-participants (0) and participants (1+ times), and as poor participants (0-29 times) and good participants (30+ times).
RESULTS
Of the 199 subjects, there were 57 (28.6%) non-participants, while 56 (28.1%) were classified as good participants. The factors that significantly affected participation status, as identified by univariate analysis, were personal factors (age, educational level, marital status, religion, living with someone, monthly income), environmental factors (method of access, accessibility of other facilities), body mass index, hypertension, perceived barriers to health, emotional salience, affectionate domain of social support, and depression. Multiple logistic regression analyses indicated that method of access was the most significant factor affecting participation in the health promotion program, and that the factors most highly associated with good participation were emotional salience, hypertension and body mass index.
CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest that specific factors determine and enhance participation in health promotion programs offered by public health centers. These factors should be considered during the design and evaluation of health promotion programs that are offered by public health centers.