e-Health Risk Assessment on Non-Communicable Diseases, Quality of Life, And Health Promotion Behavioral Among University Personnel in Thailand
This study utilized the "CMU i-Health" web-application to assess non-communicable disease risks, quality of life, and health-promoting behaviors among 650 Chiang Mai University personnel, revealing that while excessive BMI and poor dietary habits were the primary risk factors, a moderate positive correlation exists between quality of life and health-promoting behaviors, underscoring the need for targeted health interventions to improve workforce well-being.
Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer
In the modern workplace, the line between professional duty and personal well-being is often blurred. For university staff, the demands of teaching, research, and administration can create a high-pressure environment where health takes a backseat. This is particularly concerning for non-communicable diseases, conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease that develop slowly over time and are not caused by germs. Instead, these illnesses are frequently linked to daily habits: what people eat, how much they move, how they manage stress, and whether they smoke or drink alcohol. While these diseases are common, they are also largely preventable. The challenge for large organizations is figuring out how to help thousands of employees recognize their own risks and make healthier choices without overwhelming them or invading their privacy.
To address this, researchers at Chiang Mai University in Thailand turned to a digital solution. They developed a web-based tool called the CMU i-Health application, designed to act as a personal health check-up station for university personnel. The goal was not just to collect data, but to understand the relationship between three specific areas: the risk of developing chronic diseases, the employees' overall quality of life, and the daily habits they practiced to stay healthy. By using this digital platform, the team could gather information from a large group of people efficiently, creating a clear picture of the health landscape within the university. The study focused on whether simply having access to this information and the ability to track one's own health would lead to better behaviors and a higher quality of life over time.
The research team invited 650 staff members from Chiang Mai University to participate in the study between January and June 2021. The group included both academic staff, such as professors and lecturers, and support staff, like administrative workers. The participants were mostly women, making up nearly 70 percent of the group. Using the CMU i-Health application, each person filled out a series of questions about their health history, their lifestyle, and how they felt about their life in general. The system asked about specific risk factors, such as body weight, waist size, diet, stress levels, and exercise habits. It also included standard questions used globally to measure how satisfied a person feels with their physical and mental well-being. The researchers collected this data at the beginning of the study and then asked the same people to fill out the surveys again after a few months to see if anything had changed.
The results painted a clear picture of the health challenges facing university employees. Nearly half of the participants fell into a category of moderate health risk, meaning they had several factors that could lead to chronic disease in the future. The most common issues were related to diet and body shape. Almost everyone in the study reported having dietary habits that were not ideal, and a vast majority had a body mass index that was higher than recommended. Stress was also a major factor, affecting more than 40 percent of the group. While fewer people reported smoking or drinking alcohol, these behaviors were still present. The most common specific health risks identified were high blood pressure and high levels of fat in the blood, known as hyperlipidemia. These findings confirmed that the working-age population at the university faced significant hurdles in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, largely driven by the pressures of daily life and work.
When the researchers looked at the employees' quality of life, they found that most people rated their lives as moderate. This means they were neither extremely satisfied nor deeply unhappy, but somewhere in the middle. The study also examined how often people engaged in healthy behaviors, such as exercising, eating well, or managing stress. The average score for these behaviors was decent, but not high. Crucially, when the team compared the data from the beginning of the study to the data collected six months later, they found no significant improvement. The employees' quality of life scores remained the same, and their healthy habits did not change much over time. This suggests that simply having a tool to measure health risks was not enough to motivate people to change their daily routines.
However, the study did uncover an important connection between how people lived and how they felt. The researchers found a clear link between health-promoting behaviors and quality of life. People who engaged more often in healthy activities, like exercising or managing stress, tended to report a better quality of life. This relationship was statistically significant, meaning it was a real pattern and not just a coincidence. It suggests that while the digital tool alone did not force change, the act of living a healthier life is deeply tied to feeling good about one's existence. The data showed that at any given time, individuals with better habits reported higher well-being, even though the group as a whole did not show a significant shift in behavior or well-being scores during the six-month period.
The researchers concluded that while the CMU i-Health application was successful in gathering data and identifying risks, technology by itself is not a complete solution. The system worked well as a way to screen for problems and provide a snapshot of the university's health, but it could not single-handedly fix the deep-rooted habits of the staff. The lack of change in behavior over six months indicates that employees need more than just information; they need support, encouragement, and perhaps changes to their work environment to make healthy choices easier. The study highlights that for a university to become a truly healthy place, it must combine digital tools with active programs that help people manage stress, improve their diets, and find time for exercise. By understanding the specific risks and the connection between daily habits and happiness, the university can now plan better strategies to support its workforce, ensuring they remain healthy and productive as they age.
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