Kulturowo-religijne zróżnicowanie zachowań zdrowotnych wyznawców wybranych religii : diagnoza i edukacja zdrowotna

Abstract

The prepared doctoral dissertation presents the issue of lifestyle, health behaviors in the context of cultural and religious diversity. The subject of research was health behaviors such as diet, use of stimulants such as alcohol, tobacco, but also physical activity, forms of rest and relaxation were analyzed. All these behaviors were analyzed in relation to the principles set out in the five selected religions, i.e. Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism, the research was conducted in Poland. Health behaviors are conditioned, among others, by factors such as personality traits of human being’s, the environment in which he/she lives, and the influence of people who surround he/she. Culture and religion are also important for health behaviors as a component of the culture according to which the individual lives, develops, adopts its values, beliefs and identifies with the principles adopted in a given culture and religion. The issues of the doctoral dissertation are closely related to the socio-ecological health model and issues of health pedagogy as a subdiscipline of pedagogy, intercultural education and public health. The dissertation discusses the complexity of the subject of health behavior in relation to cultural and religious diversity, represents what this diversity derives from and how the principles of wholesome behavior in the religious community are perceived and practiced by the followers of selected religions. The aim of the research project was to search and analyze common and different health behaviors of the followers of selected religions, identified for analysis, and an attempt was made to identify cultural and religious differences regarding the determinants of health behavior, of followers of selected religions. The research strategy was based on quantitative and qualitative research methods and the methods used where the: ethnographic method and diagnostic survey. The research techniques used were participant observation, expert interview as well as the questionnaire and text analysis techniques. The research tools used where: the author's own survey questionnaire, the questionnaire for the expert interview, the author's guide to analyzing the content of documents ("Holy Books") and a standardized tool, which is the Inventory of Health Behaviors according to Z. Juczyński. The research showed that health behaviors depend on religious affiliation. On the other hand, adherence to the principles set by religion is significantly influenced by the length of being a follower of that specific religion, the fact whether parents belong to the same religion as the respondent and the age of the respondents. The results of the conducted research constituted the basic inspiration for the preparation of didactic classes in intercultural health education, with the aim to refute myths, eliminate prejudices, artificial boundaries, sometimes even aggression towards culturally and religiously different people. Health education as one of health promotion tools is aimed at raising public health awareness. Not only a doctor, nurse or educator, but everyone should have a positive attitude towards other people regardless of their religion or cultural affiliation/s. That is why, it is so important to know the principles followed by the followers of different religions. In addition, learning about the diversity of health behaviors gives you the opportunity to modify your own behavior, and "take over" new ones taken from other cultures that can have a positive effect on our health.