Free Nursing Literature Review Sample

Qualitative: A Literature Review

Qualitative: A Literature Review
Undergraduate students taking courses related to human health have various perceptions of the behavior exhibited by their peers, which may affect their health. Ridder, Heuvelmans, Visscher, Seidell, & Renders (2010) argue that there is a relationship between the actual behaviors reported about students and perceived behavior by the medical students in Netherlands. The authors used a sample of 1608 students issued with questionnaires regarding the number of students engaged in alcohol consumption. Riddler et al., found that the perceptions of medical students tend to overestimate the levels of consumptions for cigarettes and alcohol. Jones & Rossiter (2008) agree with the authors. They argue that medical students overestimate the indulgence of the behavior of their peers in unhealthy practices. For instance, Jones and Rossiter found that medical students think that 90 percent of their peers drink over a period of two weeks. In reality, only 80 percent who reach this level, making their estimations inaccurate (Jones & Rossiter, 2008, p. 12).
Shafiq, Shah, Saleem, Siddiqi, Shaikh, Salahuddin, Siwani, & Naqvi (2006) examine the perceptions of undergraduate medical students on the causes of indulgence in the supposed unhealthy behavior. According to them, peer influence is the major cause for indulgence in unhealthy behavior (45). The proposal is in agreement with the perspective of Duperly et al., (2009) who argues that indulgence in perceived wrongful behavior suffers is rampant when people share similar attributes such as age, gender, and institutional other institutional frameworks. It is easier to indulge in similar behavior when the parties have an element in common that connects them. In this context, it is elementary to explore the sociological involved in this setting. Papinczak, Young, Groves, and Haynes (2008) discuss the nature versus nurture framework, which triggers the behavior in individuals (35). Essentially, they focus on nature and its influence on the behavior of individuals such that the students’ peers drink and indulge in other behavior because of the influence of the environment. The argument is similar to Cegolon et al., (2010) quantitative study in Italy, which suggests that 65 percent of the indulgence in seemingly unhealthy habits emanates from the interaction with people around students (25).
Valaitis, Sword, Jones, & Hodges (2005) evaluate the risk factors associated with indulgence in unhealthy behavior. Medical students think that their peers are not aversive to the risk involved when engaging in the risky behavior. Since they are many, they tend to have a feeling of security such that the effects of the risk involved will be mitigated by the fact that their friends are also involved in the behavior. Abahussain & Abahussain (2010) also touch on the issue of group mentality and the perceptions held by medical students about their peers. The authors assert that medical students think that indulgence in unhealthy behavior happens when their peers are in social groups associated with the behavior.

References

Abahussain, A. A., & Abahussain, E. (2010). Health Promotion and Education Activities of Community Pharmacists in Kuwait. Journal of Pharmacy World & Science. doi:10.1007/s11096-009-9360-6
Cape, G., Hannah, A., & Sellman, D. (2006). A Longitudinal Evaluation of Medical Student Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes to Alcohol and Drugs. Addiction. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2006.01476.x
Cegolon, L., Miatto, E., Bortolotto, M., Benetton, M., Mazzoleni, F., & Mastrangelo, G. (2010). Body Piercing and Tattoo: Awareness of Health Related Risks Among 4,277 Italian Secondary School Adolescents. BMC Public Health. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-10-73
Duperly, J., Lobelo, F., Segura, C., Sarmiento, F., Herrera, D., Sarmiento, O. L., & Frank, E. (2009). The Association Between Colombian Medical Students' Healthy Personal Habits and a Positive Attitude Toward Preventive Counseling: Cross-sectional Analyses. BMC Public Health. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-9-218
Jones, S. C., & Rossiter, J. D. (2008). Young Adults' Perceptions of Smoking Actors.Health Education. doi:10.1108/09654280810910863
Levinthal, C. (2014). Drugs, Behavior, and Modern Society.
Papinczak, T., Young, L., Groves, M., & Haynes, M. (2008). Effects of a Metacognitive Intervention on Students’ Approaches to Learning and Self-Efficacy in a First Year Medical Course. Advances in Health Sciences Education. doi:10.1007/s10459-006-9036-0
Ridder, M. A., Heuvelmans, M. A., Visscher, T. L., Seidell, J. C., & Renders, C. M. (2010). We Are Healthy So We Can Behave Unhealthily : A Qualitative Study of the Health Behaviour of Dutch Lower Vocational Students. Health Education. doi:10.1108/09654281011008735
Shafiq, M., Shah, Z., Saleem, A., Siddiqi, M. T., Shaikh, K. S., Salahuddin, F. F., Siwani, R., & Naqvi, H. (2006). Perceptions of Pakistani Medical Students About Drugs and Alcohol: a Questionnaire-based Survey. Substance Abuse Treatment Prevention and Policy. doi:10.1186/1747-597X-1-31
Valaitis, R. K., Sword, W. A., Jones, B., & Hodges, A. (2005). Problem-Based Learning Online: Perceptions of Health Science Students. Advances in Health Sciences Education. doi:10.1007/s10459-005-6705-3