Effect of Educational Intervention Based on the Health Belief Model on Reduction of Arbitrary Use of Antibiotics in Women Referred to Health Units Under Coverage of South Tehran Health Center

Arbitrary use of antibiotics has caused resistance to antibiotics to become a major health problem. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of educational intervention based on the health belief model on reduction of arbitrary use of antibiotics in women referred to health units under coverage of South Tehran Health Center
This study was a randomized controlled trial including 396 patients, conducted in 10 randomly health centers allocated as intervention or control groups. The data were collected using questionnaires. The educational intervention included holding educational classes, distribution of pamphlets, hanging posters/flyers, and sending SMSes. The content of education was based on health pattern constructs as regards effects of arbitrary use of antibiotics. Before and after the intervention, the questionnaires were completed by the subjects and the resulting data analyzed using the SPSS software and appropriate statistical tests.
Analysis of the data showed statistically significant differences between mean scores of the health belief model components (knowledge, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers) and practice in both the intervention and control groups before and after the educational intervention (p Considering the self-reported increased awareness and decreased practice in the intervention group, it seems that the health belief model is an appropriate model for reducing arbitrary use of antibiotics.