The Effects of an Educational Intervention Based on the Health Belief Model and Self-Regulation on Women's Eating Behaviors During Menopausal Transition

Middle-aged females are very vulnerable in their menopausal transition and are at risk for developing chronic illnesses. Modification of eating behaviors is one of the most important strategies for the prevention and management of chronic illnesses. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of an educational intervention based on the health belief model and self-regulation on female’s eating behaviors during menopausal transition.
As a randomized controlled field trial, this study was done in 2016 on seventy 35- to 50-year-old females recruited from primary healthcare centers in Darmian county, Iran. Females were randomly allocated to control and intervention groups. A valid and reliable researcher-made questionnaire was used to assess self-regulation and Health Belief Model constructs. Women in the intervention group received theoretical trainings about eating behaviors in six 60- to 90-minute sessions and practical training about healthy cooking in one 180-minute session. Data collection was done before, immediately after, and 3 months after the intervention. The collected data were analyzed via the SPSS software (v. 18.0) and by conducting the independent-sample t test, repeated-measures analysis of variance, and Bonferroni post hoc test at a significance level of less than 0.05.
The study groups did not significantly differ from each other regarding female’s demographic characteristics (P The educational intervention based on the Health Belief Model and self-regulation improved women’s healthy eating knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, self-regulation, and practice.