Analysis of University Students' Health Behavior and Health Education Status

Objectives The purpose of this study is to provide basic data necessary for developing health-related programs as liberal arts courses in universities by investigating the university students' health behavior and health education status. Methods To achieve this, a survey was conducted on 458 male and female students at D University located in Gyeonggi-do from May 7 to June 5, 2024, along with interviews with 6 students. The survey results were statistically processed using the SPSS program 18.0, and the interview data were analyzed following the STEP-BY-STEP analysis procedure. Results The analysis revealed that university students not only lacked interest and effort in their personal health but also had a relatively high breakfast skipping rate. Furthermore, the rates of alcohol consumption and smoking experiences were high, and most individuals with drug use experiences had them during their university years. Although most university students had received health education during elementary, middle, and high school, they did not correctly recognize the relationship between alcohol consumption or smoking and their impact on health. For university-level health education, there was a desire for content covering topics such as daily lifestyle habits and health, mental health, and seasonal diseases. Conclusions Based on these research findings, it was suggested that the establishment and operation of health- related subjects in liberal arts courses are necessary for university students to practice proper health behaviors, and various health-related programs should be developed and distributed. Furthermore, to instill appropriate health behaviors in university students, diverse teaching methods should be introduced, and measures for conducting health education that can increase students' interest should be prepared.