Conference Abstract | Volume 8, Abstract NACNDC/19JASH00029 (Poster) | Published: 11 Dec 2025
Tumusiime Veldrine Benard1,&, Agnes Nyabigambo1, John Ssenkusu1
1Makerere University School of Public Health, Kampala, Uganda
&Corresponding author: Tumusiime Veldrine Benard, Makerere University School of Public Health Email: tumusiimeveldrine7@gmail.com ORCID: 0009-0007-5420-6708
Received: 18 Sep 2025, Accepted: 20 Oct 2025, Published: 11 Dec 2025
Domain: Non-Communicable Disease Epidemiology
Keywords: Physical activity, cardiovascular disease prevention, medical students, knowledge attitudes practices, Uganda
©Tumusiime Veldrine Benard et al. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Tumusiime Veldrine Benard et al. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of physical activity for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases among undergraduate students at the College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2025;8(ConfProc6):00029. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO6-00029
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the leading cause of global mortality, and physical activity is a key preventive measure. University students, including those in health professions, often exhibit lifestyle patterns that increase CVD risk despite their academic exposure. This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of physical activity for CVD prevention among undergraduate students at the College of Health Sciences, Makerere University.
A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 262 randomly selected undergraduate students from the Schools of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Public Health. Data were collected electronically using a structured self-administered questionnaire developed in KoBoToolbox. Descriptive statistics were generated, and chi square tests assessed associations between sociodemographic factors, knowledge levels, attitudes, and physical activity practices.
Most participants (89.3 percent) demonstrated high knowledge of the role of physical activity in preventing CVDs, and all respondents agreed that physical activity is important for cardiovascular health. Knowledge level was significantly associated with school of study (p = 0.00) and year of study (p = 0.03). A majority of participants (79.4 percent) had positive attitudes toward physical activity, and 99.2 percent were willing to advise others to exercise. Although 69.5 percent engaged in physical activity, more than half exercised only one to two days weekly, and 45.6 percent for no more than 30 minutes, which falls below WHO recommendations. Personal motivation (p = 0.00), peer influence (p = 0.01), and lack of time (p = 0.001) were significantly associated with engagement in physical activity. Only 14.5 percent had ever sought professional guidance on physical activity for cardiovascular health.
Although knowledge and attitudes toward physical activity were high among students, actual practice was insufficient to meet recommended activity levels. Interventions that address motivation, time management, and structured university based physical activity programs are needed to reduce the knowledge to practice gap and strengthen CVD prevention among future health professionals.
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