Bmc Public Health
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Physician-delivered preventive counseling is important for the prevention and management of chronic diseases. Data from the U.S. indicates that medical students with healthy personal habits have a better attitude towards preventive counseling. However, this association and its correlates have not been addressed in rapidly urbanized settings where chronic disease prevention strategies constitute a top public health priority. This study examines the association between personal health practices and attitudes toward preventive counseling among first and fifth-year students from 8 medical schools in Bogotá, Colombia. ⋯ As for U.S. physician and medical students, a positive association was found between the personal health habits of Colombian medical students and their corresponding attitudes toward preventive counseling, independent of gender and medial training-related factors. Our findings, the first relating to this association in medical students in developing regions, also suggest that within the medical school context, interventions focused on promoting healthy student lifestyles can potentially improve future physician's attitudes toward preventive counseling.