Introduction
The Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP-II) is a 52-item self-report questionnaire that measures patterns of health-promoting behaviors and lifestyle practices across six dimensions of wellness. Susan Noble Walker, Karen R. Sechrist and Nola J. Pender developed and copyrighted it in 1996, and it has received more than 1,110 citations.
The HPLP-II is used in health promotion research, intervention studies and outcome evaluation. This guide explains its six subscales, scoring, translations and evidence.
Key Features of the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP-II)
Purpose and Use
The HPLP-II measures behaviors associated with maintaining and improving health. It is intended for health promotion research, intervention studies and outcome evaluation.
Target Population
The HPLP-II is intended for adults aged 18 and older.
Structure
The HPLP-II has 52 items covering six dimensions of health-promoting behavior:
Subscale
What it covers
Spiritual Growth
Meaning, purpose, inner development and connectedness
Interpersonal Relations
Communication and meaningful relationships
Nutrition
Healthy dietary practices
Physical Activity
Taking part in exercise and daily activity
Health Responsibility
Health awareness and proactive health behaviors
Stress Management
Strategies to control and reduce tension
Scoring Method
Each item is rated on a 4-point scale: 1 (never), 2 (sometimes), 3 (often) and 4 (routinely).
Total score: the mean of the responses to the whole scale.Subscale scores: the mean of the responses within each subscale.A mean score of 2.5 or more on a subscale has been taken to reflect a high practice of health promotion.
Administration Format
The HPLP-II is a self-report questionnaire.
Applications of the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP-II)
The HPLP-II supports several uses:
Health promotion research: describing health-promoting lifestyles in different populations.Intervention studies: measuring changes in health behaviors.Outcome evaluation: assessing the results of health promotion programs.Languages and availability
The HPLP-II has been translated and validated in many languages:
Portuguese: cross-cultural validationTurkish: reliability and construct validity in an adult Turkish populationMalay: cross-cultural validationSinhala: validation in postmenopausal women in Sri LankaKurdish: validation among Kurdish healthcare providersPersian: validation in female adolescents in IranHindi: interventional study in rural IndiaRussian: Russian versionJapanese: Japanese versionArmenian: Armenian versionThe HPLP-II is an unpublished instrument, and the scale and its documentation are available from the University of Michigan Deep Blue repository.
Reliability and Validity
The original psychometric study showed strong reliability and substantial evidence of content, construct and criterion validity.
Validation studies:
Psychometric evaluation of the HPLP-II (Walker and Hill-Polerecky, 1996): study linkReliability and construct validity of the HPLP-II in an adult Turkish population (2009): study linkCross-cultural validation of the Malay HPLP-II (2019): study linkCross-cultural validation of the Portuguese HPLP-II (2015): study linkLimitations and Considerations
Keep these points in mind:
Unpublished instrument: the HPLP-II is an unpublished, copyrighted instrument.Self-report: scores reflect how often people say they perform each behavior.Other Versions And Related Questionnaires
The original Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP) preceded the HPLP-II.
A related questionnaire is the Personal Lifestyle Questionnaire (PLQ).
Additional Resources
The HPLP-II in the University of Michigan Deep Blue repository: linkFor inquiries, contact Susan Noble Walker, EdD, RN, FAAN, University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Nursing, at swalker@unmc.edu.Browse more public health questionnaires in the ResRef database.Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What does the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II measure?The HPLP-II measures how often adults practice health-promoting behaviors across six areas: spiritual growth, interpersonal relations, nutrition, physical activity, health responsibility and stress management.
How is the HPLP-II scored?Each of the 52 items is rated from 1 (never) to 4 (routinely). The total score is the mean of all responses, and each subscale score is the mean of its own items.
What is a good HPLP-II score?Studies have taken a mean score of 2.5 or more on a subscale to reflect a high practice of health promotion. Higher means indicate more frequent health-promoting behaviors.
In which languages is the HPLP-II available?The HPLP-II has versions in many languages, including Portuguese, Turkish, Malay, Sinhala, Kurdish, Persian, Hindi, Russian, Japanese and Armenian.
A Word from ResRef About the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP-II)
The HPLP-II is a comprehensive self-report instrument designed to assess multidimensional health-promoting behaviors in adults. The original study demonstrated strong reliability and substantial evidence of content, construct and criterion validity. Its six-domain structure supports use in health promotion research and intervention evaluation.
References
Sousa, P., Gaspar, P., Vaz, D. C., Gonzaga, S., & Dixe, M. A. (2015). Measuring health-promoting behaviors: cross-cultural validation of the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II. International Journal of Nursing Knowledge, 26(2), 54–61. https://doi.org/10.1111/2047-3095.12065Sheoran, P., Malik, E., & Siddiqui, A. (2018). Health-promoting behaviors and menopausal symptoms: An interventional study in rural India. Journal of Mid-life Health, 9(4), 200. https://doi.org/10.4103/jmh.jmh_96_18Pinar, R., Celik, R., & Bahcecik, N. (2009). Reliability and construct validity of the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II in an adult Turkish population. Nursing Research, 58(3), 184–93. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNR.0b013e31819a8248Kuan, G., Kueh, Y. C., Abdullah, N., & Tai, E. L. M. (2019). Psychometric properties of the health-promoting lifestyle profile II: cross-cultural validation of the Malay language version. BMC Public Health, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-7109-2Rathnayake, N., Alwis, G., Lenora, J., & Lekamwasam, S. (2020). Applicability of health promoting lifestyle profile-II for postmenopausal women in Sri Lanka; a validation study. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12955-020-01371-7Kamali, A. S., Sadeghi, R., Tol, A., & Yaseri, M. (2016). Reliability and validity of Kurdish language version of Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II among Kurdish healthcare providers. Archives of Iranian Medicine, 19(12), 824–831. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27998156/Mohamadian, H., Ghannaee, M., Kortdzanganeh, J., & Meihan, L. (2013). Reliability and Construct Validity of the Iranian Version of Health-promoting Lifestyle Profile in a Female Adolescent Population. International Journal of Preventive Medicine, 4(1), 42–9. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23412661/