SELF-CARE PRACTICES OF UNIVERSITY RESIDENTS ON CAMPUS OF A UNIVERSITY CENTER IN SÃO PAULO

Abstract

Health practices are strongly influenced by transition to adulthood, stress, and anxiety; all of which are present for a university student, which can compromise self-care. This context may compromise a student’s self-care. This article describes self-care practices among university students living in a private confessional university center in the Southern area of the city of São Paulo. Conduct a cross-sectional study, descriptive of applied research with a quantitative approach. The data collection happened during the months of March and April, 2019, using an electronic questionnaire. A descriptive analysis of the collected data was performed, and the percent of involvement for each activity was presented. Participated in the research 114 university students, the majority of the participants were female, between the ages of 18 and 21, members of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, studied during morning hours on human and biological sciences courses and worked 30 hours per week. Among positive practices stood out: three daily meals with frequent consumption of fruits and vegetables; low alcohol intake and updated vaccination status. However, the following aspects showed bad results: water intake, physical exercise, sleep, personal hygiene and dental and medical follow-ups. Conclusion: despite of the need of improvement in some practices, compared with another students, the study group presented good results, it is believed that they can partly be attributed to the environment of the student accommodation and to their religious aspect.