THE INFLUENCE OF CHRONIC NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES AND BAD HABITS ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL COMPONENT OF HEALTH IN NURSING STUDENTS

The purpose of this study was to analyze indicators of the psychological component of the nursing students’ quality of life depending on the presence of chronic non-infectious diseases and bad habits. 70 students of the second level of higher education in specialty 223 “Nursing” took part in the study. Quality of life was assessed using the SF-36 questionnaire.When analyzing the psychological component of health of master’s degree holders in the specialty “Nursing”, the dependence of indicators of the psychological component of health, including vital activity, social functioning, role functioning and psychological health, on the presence or absence of chronic diseases was not established.The presence of bad habits affects life activity and psychological health in nursing students, which are likely to be lower by 35,24 and 9,45%, respectively, in relation to data with no bad habits, while the psychological component of health, social and role functioning, caused by the emotional state, did not depend on bad habits among the master’s degree holders in the specialty “Nursing”. Given the continued high prevalence of smoking and obesity among nurses, there is a need to provide effective education and counseling of applicants regarding the dangers of smoking and overeating, smoking cessation, lifestyle modification, and positive stress management strategies. This could have a significant impact on future professional practice and could help reduce smoking and obesity rates worldwide.