Volume 4 Issue 1 (February 2012) - Ozean Publications

European Journal of Educational Studies 4(1), 2012
With the simple random sampling, the names of the banks were written on pieces of papers and were picked in turn
until 5 banks were randomly selected. These were First Bank, UBA, Union Bank, Zenith and Intercontinental Bank.
Also, with the simple random technique, all the named bank branches in Benin City were listed on pieces of papers
and First Bank Ugbowo, Union Bank Kings Square, UBA Sapele Road, Zenith Bank Sapele Road and
Intercontinental bank Ugbowo campus branches were selected. From each branch’s record, First Bank Ugbowo has
a staff strength of 35, Union 34, UBA 38, Zenith 43 and Intercontinental 30.Thus, the sample size of the study
comprising 30, 21, 32, 36, 20 subjects respectively were randomly selected from the five branches giving a total of
139 subjects. Of the 139 subjects, 56 were males and 83 were females. The subjects are officers who are responsible
for most of the bank operations and Customer Services. Permission to conduct the study was obtained from the
informed consent of the bank managers.
A validated and pre-tested questionnaire designed to determine the extent to which physical activities enhance
cardiovascular wellness of these bank workers was administered by the researcher and collected immediately, given
a reliability coefficient (r) of 0.73. This meant a high reliability of the study. The extent to which the medical history
of the bank workers could limit their engagement in physical activities was assessed by their agreement or
disagreement to the items. Adequate knowledge of the benefits of physical activities in promoting cardiovascular
wellness was determined by a good definition of (5-7) items plus two types of physical activities each of moderate
and hard types. Inadequate knowledge was assessed by fair definition of (2-4 items) plus 1 type of moderate or mild
type of physical activity, while poor knowledge was assessed by poor definition of (1 item) with no type of physical
activity at all. Physical activity engagement requirement preference was assessed by best preference [Intensity: hard
(76-95%), duration (minutes per day): 20 and frequency (per week): 3-5 times], good preference [Intensity:
moderate (40-75%), duration (minutes per day): 20-60 and frequency (per week): > 5 times] and poor preference
[Intensity: mild < 40%, duration (minutes per day): < 20 and frequency (per week): < 3 times]. Data were analysed
using Chi-square ( X 2 ) frequency counts and percentages The significant level was set at 0.05. The differences
between the proportions were carefully analysed.
RESULTS
From the study, the participants, age ranges (15 to 30 years, 31 to 46 years and 47 to 62 years) of the bank workers
responded. 56 (40.3%) were males while 83 (59.7%) were females giving a response rate of 100%.More of the bank
workers 101/139 (72.7%) were B.Sc holders, 38/139 (27.3%) M.Sc holders and none was a Ph.D holder.
Medical History and Engagement in Physical Activities
Majority of the overall bank workers 119/139 (85.6%) did not have medical history (that is, coronary heart disease,
irregular heartbeats, family history of heart disease, high blood pressure, and so on) that could hinder their
cardiovascular wellness. However, (14.4%) had medical history of irregular heartbeats that required the use of
prescription drugs. There was a significant relationship in the proportions of those with medical history and
engagement in physical activities between different banks, df of 4 (x 2 =22.13; p < 0.05). The proportion of those with
medical history in First bank and Intercontinental bank was not significantly different (10.0%). However, the
proportion of those with medical history in UBA (31.2%) was significantly higher than their counterparts in Union
(14.3%) and Zenith (05.6%) banks [Table 1].
Awareness and Level of Knowledge of the Benefits of Physical activities in Promoting Cardiovascular wellness
Majority of bank workers 123 (88.5%) were aware of the benefits of physical activities in promoting cardiovascular
wellness while 16 (11.5%) were not. There was no statistical difference in the proportions of those who were aware
of the benefits of physical activities in promoting cardiovascular wellness among the banker workers, df of 4
(x 2 =7.46; p < 0.05). The proportions of participants with adequate knowledge of the benefits of physical activities
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