COMPARISON OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT NUTRITION AND EATING HABITS OF NURSES/TECHNICIANS AND GENERAL POPULATION

Cilj: Utvrditi imaju li medicinske sestre/tehničari više znanja o pravilnoj prehrani u odnosu na opću populaciju. Istražiti primjenjuju li ispitanici to znanje u svakodnevnom životu kroz dobre prehrambene navike i usporediti rezultate. Izračunati Indeks tjelesne mase (ITM) ispitanika i usporedite rezultate. Metode: Istraživanje je provedeno pomoću ankete koja se sastojala od dva upitnika. Upitnik znanja o pravilnoj prehrani i upitnik o prehrambenim navikama. Uspoređivalo se znanje o pravilnoj prehrani i prehrambene navike medicinskih sestara/tehničara i opće populacije. Iz demografskih podataka uzeta je težina i visina ispitanika, čime je izračunat Indeks tjelesne mase. Rezultati: U istraživanju je sudjelovalo 314 ispitanika od kojih je u skupini medicinskih sestara/tehničara bilo 158 ispitanika, a u općoj populaciji 156 ispitanika. Rezultati istraživanja su pokazali dobro znanje o pravilnoj prehrani u obje skupine medicinskih sestara/tehničara i opće populacije. Rezultati Upitnika o prehrambenim navikama pokazuju da se ispitanici ne drže smjernica pravilne prehrane u svom svakodnevnom životu što je potvrđeno rezultatom Indeksa tjelesne mase gdje su ispitanici u prosjeku imali 25,85 kg/m2, tj. prekomjernu tjelesnu masu. Iako rezultati nemaju statističku značajnost u sva tri ispitivana područja, medicinske sestre/tehničari su pokazali nešto bolje znanje o pravilnoj prehrani te u prosjeku postigli rezultat od 17,51 bod u odnosu na opću populaciju koja je ostvarila 17,13 bodova. Unatoč nešto boljem znanju medicinske sestre/tehničari (68,35%) imaju lošije prehrambene navike u odnosu na opću populaciju (65,38%). Izračun Indeksa Tjelesne Mase pokazuje da samo 44,30% medicinskih sestara/tehničara ima normalnu tjelesnu masu, a u općoj populaciji ostvaren postotak je 49,36% ispitanika. Zaključak: Svrha ovog rada bila je istražiti, imaju li medicinske sestre/tehničari više znanja o pravilnoj prehrani od opće populacije i primjenjuju li to znanje za svoje prehrambene navike. Indeks tjelesne mase služio je kao objektivni pokazatelj tjelesnog stanja ispitanika. S obzirom na to da nije bilo statistički značajne razlike u znanju između medicinskih sestara/tehničara i opće populacije, možda bi se mogla razmotriti mogućnost uvođenja dodatnih predmeta i edukacija iz područja nutricionizma u nastavni program medicinskih sestara/tehničara.AIM: To determine whether nurses/technicians have more knowledge about proper nutrition compared to the general population. To investigate if the respondents apply this knowledge in their everyday life through good eating habits and to compare the results. Calculate the body mass index (BMI) of the respondents and compare the results. Methods: The research was conducted using a survey consisting of two questionnaires. Questionnaire on knowledge about proper nutrition and questionnaire on eating habits. Knowledge about proper nutrition and dietary habits of nurses/technicians and the general population were compared. The weight and height of the subject were taken from the demographic data, which was used to calculate the Body Mass Index. Results: 314 respondents participated in the research, of which 158 respondents were in the group of nurses/technicians, and 156 respondents in the general population. The results of the research showed good knowledge about proper nutrition in both groups of nurses/technicians and the general population.. The results of the Questionnaire on eating habits show that the respondents do not follow the guidelines of proper nutrition in their daily life, which is confirmed by the results of the Body Mass Index, where the respondents had an average of 25.85 kg/m2, i.e. excessive body mass. Although the results do not have statistical significance in all three examined areas, nurses/technicians showed slightly better knowledge of proper nutrition and achieved an average result of 17.51 points compared to the general population, which achieved 17.13 points. Despite slightly better knowledge, nurses/technicians (68.35%) have worse eating habits compared to the general population (65.38%). The calculation of the Body Mass Index shows that only 44.30% of nurses/technicians have a normal body mass, while the percentage achieved in the general population is 49.36% of respondents. Conclusion: The purpose of this work was to investigate whether nurses/technicians have more knowledge about proper nutrition than the general population and whether they apply this knowledge to their eating habits. The body mass index served as an objective indicator of the subjects' physical condition. Given that there was no statistically significant difference in knowledge between Nurses/Technicians and the General Population, perhaps the possibility of introducing additional subjects and education in the field of nutrition into the Nurses/Technicians curriculum could be considered