Have health attitudes changed at Avondale?

It is a fact: students at Avondale College of Higher Education eat more fruit and vegetables and drink much less alcohol than students at other tertiary institutions. But these findings are based on surveys conducted more than 10 and 20 years ago: have attitudes changed?

The largest and most comprehensive survey of Seventh-day Adventist health in Australia and New Zealand will answer this question.

Students who participate in the new Health and Lifestyle Survey will contribute to an understanding of health behaviours in the Adventist Church and in the community. Lead researcher Dr Terry Butler, who conducted similar surveys in 1989 and in 2001, says the findings will compare long-term trends with national health behaviour data.

“We’re looking for a big response from students—all students, whatever their age, background and lifestyle,” says Terry, also an investigator with the Adventist Health Study at Loma Linda University (California, USA). “We need their input to paint the complete picture of health needs.”

The survey will reveal how emotional, physical, social and spiritual factors influence health attitudes and choices. It includes questions on alternative health therapies, eating, exercise, health status, recreation, sleep and substance use.

Joining students at Avondale as participants in the survey will be 4200 randomly selected church members and students from 26 Adventist high schools, reports Pastor Kevin Price, director of Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific’s Adventist Health Ministries, which is sponsoring the survey.

Avondale staff members and graduate students will examine the data in more depth after the release of initial findings later this year.

Complete the Health and Lifestyle Survey in print—copies available from Avondale Library. The survey is anonymous: no private identifiers are collected and privacy is protected.