ÖZDEN GÖKDEMİR, HASAN KAZDAĞLI, MAKBULE İLGİ ŞEMİN
Gazi Medical Journal - 2025;36(2):144-151
OBJECTIVE This study aimed to assess the healthy lifestyle behavior of family physicians (FPs) and their engagement in lifestyle medicine practices within their clinical practice. METHODS An online questionnaire was developed to collect responses from FPs between July 2018 and August 2019. A descriptive and correlational design was employed. The questionnaire consisted of two parts: “personal information of participants” and “the Healthy Lifestyle Behavior Scale-II”. The survey was conducted using an e-survey platform, and targeted a convenience sample of FPs from eight countries in a cross-sectional study. Participants were provided with information about the survey length, data storage procedures, duration of storage, the identity of the investigators, and the purpose of the study. RESULTS The study included 131 FPs, with a higher proportion of male participants. The frequency of smoking was found to be significantly higher among Turkish FPs (p=0.013). However, no statistically significant difference was observed among FPs in terms of the total score on the scale or the scores on the six dimensions. CONCLUSION The majority of FPs expressed a desire for further education, suggesting a need to incorporate educational interventions into medical school curricula. Additionally, well-structured web-based massive open online courses could serve a solution to meet the educational needs of FPs in the realm of healthy lifestyle behaviors and lifestyle medicine practices.
