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Literacy and Mental Health of Portuguese Higher Education Students and Their Use of Health Promotion Strategies during Confinement in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Ana Paula Oliveira

    (Health School, Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, 7300-555 Portalegre, Portugal
    Faculty of Nursing, University of Rovira e Virgili, 43003 Tarragona, Spain)

  • Joana Rita Nobre

    (Health School, Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, 7300-555 Portalegre, Portugal
    Faculty of Nursing, University of Rovira e Virgili, 43003 Tarragona, Spain)

  • Henrique Luis

    (Health School, Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, 7300-555 Portalegre, Portugal
    Unidade de Investigação em Ciências Orais e Biomédicas (UICOB), RHODes-Rede de Higienistas Orais para o Desenvolvimento da Ciência Faculdade de Medicina Dentária, Universidade de Lisboa, Rua Teresa Ambrósio, 1600-277 Lisbon, Portugal
    Center for Innovative Care and Health Technology (ciTechcare), Polytechnic of Leiria, 2410-541 Leiria, Portugal)

  • Luis Soares Luis

    (Center for Innovative Care and Health Technology (ciTechcare), Polytechnic of Leiria, 2410-541 Leiria, Portugal
    School of Health Sciences, Polytechnic of Leiria, 2410-541 Leiria, Portugal)

  • Núria Albacar-Riobóo

    (Faculty of Nursing, University of Rovira e Virgili, 43003 Tarragona, Spain)

  • Lara Guedes Pinho

    (Nursing School, University of Evora, 7000-811 Evora, Portugal
    Comprehensive Health Research Center, 7002-554 Evora, Portugal)

  • Carlos Sequeira

    (Nursing School of Porto, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal
    Group Inovation and Development in Nursing (NursID), Centro de Investigação em Tecnologias e Serviços de Saúde (CINTESIS), 4200-450 Porto, Portugal)

Abstract

The pandemic of COVID-19 caused significant changes in economies and societies with a major impact on the entire education process. However, these changes did not invalidate a constant effort of adaptation. This cross-sectional, descriptive, and correlational study used an online questionnaire administered to students from various study cycles at higher education institutions in Portugal, with the aim of exploring the influence of literacy and mental health on the use of mental health promotion strategies during COVID-19 confinement. A total of 329 students from higher education institutions participated in this study, mostly from the age group 18–24 years ( n = 272; 82.7%) and female ( n = 265, 80.5%). The most mentioned health promotion strategies during this period included studying ( n = 170; 51.7%); physical activities ( n = 151, 45.9%); social networking ( n = 124, 37.7%); cooking activities ( n = 120, 36.5%); and listening to music ( n = 118, 35.9%). Academic success is self-reported, and it is weakly correlated with the MHI5 (r = 0.103, p = 0.063). Students in the pre-graduate programs studied more during the times of the pandemic and used this activity as a mental-health-promoting strategy with a statistically significant difference ( p = 0.033). Although it was difficult to improve health literacy related to COVID-19 in such a short period of time, there was a very strong motivation to access, understand, evaluate, communicate, synthesize, and apply information and knowledge to maintain mental health through self-care using health promotion strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Ana Paula Oliveira & Joana Rita Nobre & Henrique Luis & Luis Soares Luis & Núria Albacar-Riobóo & Lara Guedes Pinho & Carlos Sequeira, 2022. "Literacy and Mental Health of Portuguese Higher Education Students and Their Use of Health Promotion Strategies during Confinement in the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-11, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:21:p:14393-:d:962090
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Manuel Reiriz & Macarena Donoso-González & Benjamín Rodríguez-Expósito & Sara Uceda & Ana Isabel Beltrán-Velasco, 2023. "Impact of COVID-19 Confinement on Mental Health in Youth and Vulnerable Populations: An Extensive Narrative Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-21, February.
    2. Zhidiankui Xu & Yu Wu & Yixi Bao & Jiawei Li & Zhengzhong Zhou, 2023. "Using Co-Design to Explore New Trends in Future Kitchen Designs: An Exploratory Workshop Study of College Students in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-22, January.

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