Pro-health behaviours – a sense of coherence as the key to a healthy lifestyle in rural areas?

BACKGROUND: Health-related behaviours and lifestyle are related to the salutogenic concept of health, whereas the major public health problems faced in rural areas include difficulties in encouraging people to a healthy lifestyle. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to explore mutual relationships between psychosocial-demographic factors and a sense of coherence. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Two-stage sampling was applied. Data were collected with the use of the Juczynski Health Behaviours Inventory and Antonovsky's SOC-29 (Sense of Coherence Questionnaire). The study was conducted among 668 adults. Data were statistically prepared using one-way ANOVA test, linear correlation analysis, and linear regression model. RESULTS: A higher level of pro-health behaviours is associated with gender, self-rated health, sense of coherence and age. Almost half of the farmers were characterized by a low level of pro-health attitudes. A higher level of pro-health behaviours was demonstrated by less than one-fifth of the farmers. CONCLUSIONS: There is a strong association between sense of coherence and pro-health behaviours. Farmers have bad habits and pro-health attitudes to health and poorer self-assessment of their health. There is a great need to monitor health-related behaviour, increase the effectiveness of health promotion and health education in shaping a pro-health lifestyle among residents of rural areas, particularly among farmers.