Hygiena 2011, 56(2):40-50

Exposure to Health Risk Factors and Its Perception by Teachers of Various School Levels

Jindra Šmejkalová¹, Markéta Papršteinová¹, Lenka Hodačová², Oľga Šušoliaková¹, Eva Čermáková³, Dana Fialová⁴

¹ Univerzita Karlova v Praze, LF v Hradci Králové, Ústav hygieny a preventivního lékařství, Hradec Králové

² Univerzita Karlova v Praze, LF v Hradci Králové, Ústav sociálního lékařství, Hradec Králové

³ Univerzita Karlova v Praze, LF v Hradci Králové, Oddělení výpočetní techniky, Hradec Králové

⁴ Univerzita Hradec Králové, Pedagogická fakulta, Katedra tělesné výchovy a sportu, Hradec Králové

We performed an anonymous questionnaire study to assess degree of exposure to risk factors resulting from health, lifestyle and occupational risks of 484 teachers of various school levels. The aim of the study was to assess if perception of these risk factors affected their subsequent health - related behaviours. Many respondents were exposed to several risk factors simultaneously. Most frequently we found serious diseases in respondent's relatives' anamneses and heightened occupational stress, the latter mainly among teachers in elementary schools. In total, 40% of teachers suffered from chronic complaints, namely musculoskeletal disorders and cardiovascular diseases. Nearly one quarter of all respondents were overweight and 6.6% of them were obese. Increased cholesterol level was reported in 26.6% and higher blood pressure in 5.9% of respondents. Nevertheless, the low percentage of smokers (7% regular, 5.3% occasional, total 12.3%) gives reason for optimism. The measure of physical activity was likewise quite satisfactory. The respondents were well aware of their health risks, which corresponded with, and projected into, their fear as regarding possible future health consequences. A certain underestimation was found in smokers only. But in general, it appears that teachers try to keep to the principles of healthy living, although the usefulness of preventive programmes should not be under estimated.

Keywords: teachers, risk factors, health state, way of life, occupational stress, risk perception

Received: January 2011; Accepted: February 18, 2011; Published: June 1, 2011  Show citation