THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND MENTAL HEALTH AMONG NURSES OF URMIA HOSPITALS

Nursing is one of the most stressful jobs in the world. It put a high risk at the
mental health of this profession. Considering the importance of physical activity with fitness on mental
health, and the crucial role of nursing in the health system, this study was conducted to investigate the
relationship between physical activity and general health of nursing personnel in Urmia.
Materials & Methods: This descriptive study is a correlation –comparison one which was conducted on
400 nurses who were selected in a multi-stage process. To collect the data, a general health questionnaire,
and Beck's physical activity questionnaire were used. To analyze the data, descriptive and inferential
statistics (t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient) were used.
Result: The results showed that the average physical activity among nurses was lower than the average,
and the average mental health of more than half of the subjects were below standard. Also, there is a
significant positive relationship between physical activity and general health scores (p<0/05).
Conclusion: Results showed that physical activity and exercise are the effective ways to increase mental
health.