Background: A practical screening tool for early detection of unhealthy behaviors among adults to provide tailored care can have an important role in public health nursing.
Purpose: To develop a screening tool with valid psychometric properties for adult health behaviors (AHBs).
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between March 2018 and September 2019 in central-southern Taiwan. The AHBs development included qualitative and quantitative measurement of items based on literature reviews and expert opinion and exploration and confirmatory factor analysis.
Results: A total of 765 community adult participants: 377 women and 388 men, with a mean age of 39.3 (SD = 10.6), ranging from 20 to 64 years completed the AHBs screening tool. Analysis of the 23-items AHBs scale identified six dimensions - stress management, physical activity, health responsibility, life appreciation, healthy eating, and oral hygiene accounting for 67.3% of the variance. Total scale scores were significantly associated with a criterion variable of life satisfaction.
Conclusion: The AHBs scale is a suitable screening tool that can be used to identify adults' unhealthy behaviors early, which is useful for public health nurses to conduct a regular assessment and initiate individualized health programs.
Keywords: adult health behaviors; confirmatory factor analysis; life satisfaction; public health nursing; screening tool.
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