A Quantitative Assessment of the Impact of Nutritional Choices, Quality of Sleep and Physical Activity on the General Health of Staff and Students at the All Saints University School of Medicine, Dominica

Abstract

This study utilized a quantitative approach to investigate the impact of nutritional choices, quality of sleep and physical activity on the general health of staff and students at the All Saints University School of Medicine, Dominica. Seventy-seven people (14 staff members and 63 students) participated in the survey. The Nutritional Assessment Instrument of the Government of Northwest Territories was utilized to assess the nutritional choices of participants, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to determine the quality of sleep, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire—Short Form was used to assess the physical activity while the SF-36 Questionnaire was utilized to assess the general health of participants. The mean general health of participants was 75.46 (SD = 15.44) out of a maximum of 100. Nutritional choices (r = .270, P = .018), quality of sleep (r = .387, P <.001) and physical activity (r = .237, P = .040) all had significant positive correlations with general health. A regression analysis indicated that quality of sleep (B = 13.881, p<.001) and nutritional choices (B= 10.352, p= 0.002) were the best predictors of general health while physical activity (B = 4.099, p = .063) also had a weak but non-significant positive contribution. While males had a higher mean general health compared to females, this difference was not statistically significant (P>.05). The study recommends an improvement in sleep quality, nutritional choices and physical activity and recommends, among others, the following: education of students on the need to observe good nutritional choices, quality of sleep and exercises; establishment of a cafeteria that offers healthy foods and snacks, and the creation of a Fitness Club in the University. The authors recommend that a similar study should be conducted in other institutions, especially governmental agencies and religious organizations in Dominica, as well as in other Caribbean medical universities. A further study into how nutritional choices, quality of sleep and physical activity are related to specific non-communicable diseases such as obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes mellitus in the Caribbean, using both quantitative and qualitative approaches, is also recommended.