Abstract

MEBARAK CHAMS, Moisés et al. Healthy lifestyles in young adult flood victims. Acta de investigación psicol [online]. 2018, vol.8, n.2, pp.6-19. ISSN 2007-4719.  https://doi.org/10.22201/fpsi.20074719e.2018.2.01.

Similarly, to other natural disasters, floods entail negative repercussions in affected communities. This leads to a decline in the victims’ mental and physical health. In the long term, mental health consequences tend to be more persistent, they manifest through poor self-care and other aspects related to poverty. With the intention to approach a population deeply affected by a flood, we propose the characterization of their lifestyles. As a concept, these are established as strategies for maintaining and developing health. They imply a multidimensional approach that considers the complexity of human beings in terms of their beliefs and behaviors towards their own health. In addition, it must be kept in mind that it alludes to a multifactor concept, where individual context and conditions influence its consolidation. Under this paradigm, we ca-rried out a descriptive-transversal study. Through random sampling we selected 500 inhabitants between 20 and 40 years of age, victims of the flood, after the dam canal failure in 2010, who reside in the municipality of Campo de la Cruz, At-lantico Department - Colombia. In particular we work with the dimensions of substance abuse, nutrition, self-care, sleep, leisure time and physical activity. It’s notable that there is no significant data about the social and economic situation of the population before the disaster. Among the results obtained we highlight the knowledge of the victims about strategies that promote health and their benefits. However there are incoherencies between their beliefs and the performance of health habits. On the other hand, substance abuse is emphasized as a risk factor for the health of the participants, and the need to strengthen their active role surrounding self-care practices.

Keywords : Healthy lifestyles; Psychology of health; Victims; Flood; Colombia.

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