No abstract

Background Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has become one of the biggest challenges to global health and economy. The present study aimed to explore the factors related to preventive health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic in Khuzestan Province, South of Iran, using the Health Belief Model (HBM). Methods The present cross-sectional study was conducted in the period between July 2020 and September 2020. A total of 1090 people from Khuzestan province participated in the study. The data collection method included a multistage cluster sampling method with a random selection of provincial of health centers. The questionnaire collected socio-demographic information and HBM constructs (e.g., perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits and barriers, cues to action, and COVID-19 preventive behaviors). Data were analyzed using ANOVA, t-test, hierarchical multiple linear regression, and SPSS version 22. Results The mean age of the participants was 35.53 ± 11.53, more than half of them were female (61.6%) and married (65.3). The results showed that 27% of the variance in the COVID-19 preventive behaviors was explained by HBM constructs. The regression analysis indicated that female gender (β = 0.11), perceived benefits (β = 0.10), perceived barriers (β = − 0.18), external cues to action (β = 0.25), and internal cues to action (β = 0.12) were significantly associated with COVID-19 preventive behaviors (p < 0.05). Conclusion Designing an educational intervention on the basis of HBM might be considered as a framework for the correction of beliefs and adherence to COVID-19 behavior. Health information campaigns need to (1) emphasize the benefits of preventive behaviors including avoiding the likelihood of getting a chronic disease and complications of the disease, (2) highlight the tips and advice to overcome the barriers (3) provide cues to action by means of showing various reminders in social media (4) focusing on adoption of COVID-19-related preventive behaviors, especially among men.

BackgroundThe self-efficacy of educators plays a crucial role in their professional competence and subsequent provision of care. The present study aims to explain the main sources contributing to the development of self-efficacy beliefs among healthcare providers in delivering health education.MethodsThis qualitative study was conducted from 2015 to 2016 in various settings of Isfahan such as hospitals, doctor’s offices, and healthcare centers. Twenty three health educators with an average of 10-year work experience in healthcare participated in the study. Data were collected using semi-structured in-depth individual interviews and were analyzed through conventional content analysis. Prolonged engagement with the participants, maximum variation in the participants’ characteristics, sampling, and member check were among the factors enriching the research.ResultsThe six main categories extracted during data analysis included: 1) Quantity and quality of their experience; 2) Encountering unexpected events; 3) Client trust; 4) Self-concept; 5) Professional knowledge and skill; 6) Vicarious experiences.ConclusionsThe study results show two new findings, including “encountering unexpected events” and “client trust”, affecting professional self-efficacy beliefs among healthcare providers in the delivery of health education. The other main findings were extremely similar to Bandura’s theory. These results can be used as a basis in planning and implementing health development educational models for human resources.

Background Good oral health (OH) is essential for physical, social, mental health, and overall quality of life. This study assessed the usefulness of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in changing oral health-related behaviors among school children aged 11–13 years in Saveh, Iran. Methods In this descriptive before and after study, participants were sixth-grade students at single sex primary schools in Saveh city, Iran. We recruited 356 school children in 2019. Using simple random sampling, a male and a female school per district were allocated to the experimental group and the remaining schools to the control group. Our planned oral health education consisted of four one-hour training sessions over 1 week. The first session familiarized the participants with important information about OH. In the second session, we applied a brain storming exercise to identify the benefits and barriers to flossing and brushing. In the third session, a short film about correct brushing and dental flossing technique was shown and research team also used role-playing to correct any mistakes. In the final session students were taught about the importance and the application of OH planning and given forms to help plan for brushing. Results Participants for the study included 356 students (180 in the experimental group and 176 in the control group) who completed the post-test questionnaire. The mean age ± standard deviation was 11.55 years ±0.93 in the experimental group and 11.58 years ±1.01 in the control group. After the intervention, the paired t-test indicated a significant difference between the mean and standard deviation of the action plan and coping plan constructs in the experimental group before and after the intervention (p < 0.05). Covariance analysis indicated a significant difference between scores of intervention and control groups under statistical control of post-test in two groups (covariate) after a peer-led education program (post-test) (p < 0.05). Conclusion A shortage of professional health workers in education settings together with the ease, usefulness and low-cost of this peer-led method, suggest further steps should be taken to implement it more widely to improve and enhance primary school aged students’ oral health behavior.

BackgroundType 2 diabetes is a chronic disease that is expanding at an alarming rate in the world. Research on individuals with type 2 diabetes showed that stressful life events cause problems in the effective management and control of diabetes. This study aimed at investigating the effect of a stress management intervention on blood glucose control in individuals with type 2 diabetes referred to Zarandeh clinic, Iran.MethodsIn this experimental study, 230 individuals with type 2 diabetes (179 female and 51 male) were enrolled and assigned to experimental (n = 115) and control (n = 115) groups. A valid and reliable multi-part questionnaire including demographics, Perceived Stress Scale, Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations, Coping Self-Efficacy Scale, and multidimensional scale of perceived social support was used to for data collection. The experimental group received a training program, developed based on the social cognitive theory and with an emphasis on improving self-efficacy and perceived social support, during eight sessions of one and a half hours. Control group received only standard care. Data were analyzed using SPSS 15 applying the t test, paired t-tests, Pearson correlation coefficient, and Chi square analysis. The significance level was considered at 0.05.ResultsBefore the intervention, the mean perceived stress scores of the experimental and control groups were 33.9 ± 4.6 and 35 ± 6.5, respectively, and no significant difference was observed (p > 0.05). However, after the intervention, the mean perceived stress score of the experimental group (26.7 ± 4.7) was significantly less than that of the control group (34.5 ± 7) (p = 0.001). Before the intervention, the mean scores of HbA1c in the experimental and control groups were 8.52 ± 1 and 8.42 ± 1.2, respectively, and there was no significant difference between the two groups. However, after the intervention, the results showed a significant decrease in glycosylated hemoglobin levels in the experimental group (p ≤ 0.05). Moreover, after the intervention, the result showed a significant difference between the mean scores of all aspects of Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations, coping self-efficacy, and perceived social support in the two groups (p < 0.05).ConclusionOur results suggested that the theory-based stress management intervention based on social cognitive theory may help to decrease stress and increase coping self-efficacy, stress management, perceived social support, and lead to a reduction in the glycosylated hemoglobin levels among patients with diabetes.