Effect of Education Based on Health Belief Model on Preventive Behaviors of Hepatitis B Disease in Health Volunteers

Aims: Hepatitis B virus infection is a major health problem worldwide. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of education based on health belief model on preventive behaviors of hepatitis B disease in health volunteers Materials & Methods: In this semi-experimental study which was conducted in Malayer city in 2015, 128 health volunteers from eight Urban Health Centers in this city were selected by simple random sampling method and randomly divided into two groups of experimental and control (64 people in each group). Intervention was performed in four 40-minute sessions and data were collected by a researcher-made questionnaire after 3 months. The questionnaire included demographic characteristics and constructs of health belief model and performance. Data were analyzed by Chi-square test, paired t-test, independent t-test, and oneway analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Findings: Before the intervention, there was no significant difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of health belief model constructs (p>0.05). But three months after the intervention, the mean scores of constructs of knowledge, perceived sensitivity, perceived intensity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, internal and external action guide, self-efficacy, and performance showed significant difference between the two groups (p<0.001). Conclusion: Education based on health belief model can increase the adoption of preventive behaviors of hepatitis B in the health volunteers.