Factors Affecting Health-Promoting Behaviors of Community-Dwelling Korean Older Women

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine a staged theoretical causal model on health-promoting behavior of community-dwelling Korean older women (N = 438). Sixty-two percent of the variance in the health-promoting behaviors of the sample was explained by the direct effect of social support (β = 0.53), self-efficacy (β = 0.18), perceived health status (β = 0.16), education (β = 0.12), and presence of a spouse (β = 0.10). Twenty-nine percent of the variance in social support was explained by the direct effect of self-efficacy (β = 0.31), personal control (β = 0.10), perceived health status (β = 0.16), age (β = -0.31), and religion (β = 0.15). The results indicate that self-efficacy, personal control, and perceived health status had an indirect influence on health-promoting behavior through social support. The findings of this study suggest that social support is a mediating variable on health-promoting behavior of community-dwelling older women, and further refinement of the underlying model is warranted.