Health Education and Health Promotion
Volume:2 Issue: 3, Summer 2014

One of the newest and the most comprehensive models for the behavior change is Information- Motivation- Behavioral skills (IMB) model. It is both simple and economic, and is of proper efficacy in the studies. IMB model as a health behavior change model is based on integration of the theories in social psychology and health education and promotion, emphasizing on information, motivation and behavioral skills as the basic determinants of the health-related behaviors The purpose of this article is to introduce the IMB model and by review of some studies based on this model; suitability of the model for health education and promotion interventions to be discussed.
Iranian and foreign studies conducted using this model reveal the model's effectiveness in various health education disciplines. Although the IMB model has restrictions and disadvantages as any other health education and promotion model, IMB model-based intervention's advantages show that it is an applied model for changing health behavior.

Aim: School bullying is a worldwide problem and crosses national boundaries. Students involved in bullying have a greater chance of developing emotional and behavioral disorders, as well as a higher risk of engaging in criminal behavior later in their lives. This study aims to examine the prevalence of bullying behavior and some of its associated factors among male middle school students in Tehran, Iran.
Overall, 1803 middle school students, aged 11 to 15, were enrolled in the study between January and March, 2012. Bullying behavior of and on participants was evaluated using Persian version of the revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (OBVQ).
Findings: More than 55% of students reported being involved in bullying behaviors in school, either as a victim (51%), a bully (31%) or both a bully and a victim (18%). The most common subtypes of bullying were verbal (61.3%), physical (47.6%), and indirect (50.3%) bullying. In a regression analysis, the number of student's close friends, their age, their father's education level and home atmosphere were the only significant predictors of bullying behavior.
The prevalence of bullying among Iranian middle school students is highly concerning; hence, implementation of a comprehensive, school-based anti-bullying program is an urgent need because students, who are involved in bullying behavior, are at higher risk for developing psychosocial disorders and engaging in criminal behavior later in their lives.

Aim: The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between chronic mechanical low back pain and work-related risky behaviors of nurses at hospitals in Tehran.
In order to determine the relationship between chronic mechanical low back pain and work-related risky behaviors of nurses, a cross-sectional was conducted among nurses in general hospitals in Tehran- Iran from April 17, 2014 to July 16, 2014. Five hundred eligible nurses, who were working in the different wards of under study hospitals, were included in this study. A researcher- designed 50 - item questionnaire was used to collect data. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (alpha=0.91), and test-retest evaluation (ICC=0.94) of the scale confirmed reliability of the questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS.v16 through descriptive and analytic tests. P-value Findings: In total, five hundred nurses with mean age of 37.71 6.75 years took part in the study. 168 nurses (33.6%) were male and 332 nurses were (64.4%) female. The majority of nurses who were working more than 15 years (75%) were suffering from low back pain. Low back pain was more prevalent among female nurses (68%) compared to male nurses (32%). Most participants believed that excessive physical tension and hard work at their worksite were the causes of their chronic low back pain. There were no significant differences between two genders in this regard (P>0.5). In contrast with men, the majority of females (N= 222, 66.8%) believed that psychological tensions at work have been the reasons for their chronic low back pain.
Iranian nurses believed that work – related physical and psychosocial factors could result in low back pain.

Aim: Physical inactivity, as the leading risk factor for death, is more common among women than men. Despite the effective role of extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in planning to promote exercise behavior, there is no Iranian standard scale in this regard. This research evaluated psychometric characteristics of the expanded TPB-based questionnaire regarding to the physical activity of military staff’s spouses in Tehran.
Content, face, construct validity and reliability (internal consistency and stability) of this scale was assessed. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 200 women, who were living in organizational houses, in Tehran, Iran in 2014, in order to do exploratory factor analysis (EFA).The participants were chosen with multi-stage cluster random sampling. EFA was performed applying the principal component analysis and Varimax rotation. Data were analyzed using SPSS. v16.
Findings: Content validity index, content validity ratio and impact score of the extended TPB scale were 0.8-0.97, 0.78-0.98 and 4.5-4.8, respectively. An eight-factor structure was extracted as a result of the EFA and accounted for 76.33% of the variance. The calculated KMO was 0.72 and the Bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant (P Validity and reliability of the first developed TPB-directed scale in planning about women's exercise perceptions and behavior in Iran was appraised and approved in this study. This instrument can be utilized by other health researchers.

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the beliefs toward sexual health among couples attending marriage counseling centers, based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) as a theoretical framework.
This cross-sectional study was performed on 416 couples, aged 14 to 40 years, who referred to a marriage counseling center in Kermanshah in 2014. They were recruited through a simple random sampling method. The data gathering tool consisted of a self-administered questionnaire based on the HBM constructs and some demographic characteristics. Data were analyzed with SPSS-18 software using independent t-test, one way ANOVA, and Pearson correlation.
Findings: According to the results, the level of perceived susceptibility of the consequences of unsafe sexual behaviors and perceived barriers among couples were not satisfactory; however, perceived severity and benefits were reported in a relatively good level. Internet and friends were the most important cues to action related to sexual health.
Results demonstrated that the framework of the HBM is useful for investigation of sexual health related beliefs among couples. Thus, design and implementation of interventions based on the results of present study may be effective in promoting knowledge and beliefs toward sexual health among couples.

Aim: Providing sexual health care is a fundamental action, which is intended to promote the general quality of life. To achieve this aim, practitioners in primary health care setting should be qualified in terms of sexual health counseling and effective interventions. This case report was intended to introduce and explain the application of Ex-PLISSIT model, which can be applied by health care practitioners when sexual counseling. The Ex-PLISSIT model is an extended of Annon’s PLISSIT model which its acronym determines four levels of intervention as Permission, Limited Information, Specific Suggestions, and Intensive Therapy.
The case was a 25 year-old married who declared that during the sexual encounter, she often did not experience orgasm. She also stated that ejaculation is occurred by stimulation of the Granfenberg spot (G-spot) as an erotic zone, which is located on the anterior wall of the vagina along the course of the urethra. The Ex-PLISSIT model was applied to resolve the client’s sexual problem in the three sessions with two-week intervals.
Findings: The first and second counseling sessions were focused on the permission and giving the limited information and specific suggestions to experience orgasm and correct the client’s mindset about G-spot. During counseling sessions, the review and the reflection were carried out to increase the client’s self-awareness. The third session focused on the other sexual skills training that client can apply to experience orgasm. Two weeks after the third session, client reflected that she experienced good orgasm and also she was interested to re-apply those suggestions in her sexual encounters with her husband.
The Ex-PLISSIT can be a useful framework for practitioners in primary health care setting to meet and provide the sexual health care needs of clients.

Aim: Anxiety is a bad and frustrating feeling that causes disturbance in professional, social and educational performance of students, especially those who are living in dormitories. Yoga as an anti-anxiety activity has been practiced in anxiety reduction. To assess the efficacy of yoga in reducing anxiety in students, who live in dormitory.
Totally, 120 students who lived in dormitory were selected. Students were randomly assigned to two groups and students in case group received ten 60- min yoga sessions. In this descriptive-analytic study, Ketel anxiety questionnaire was used. The data were analyzed via X2, Fisher, and Variance analysis using spss.16.
Findings: According to the results of this study, yoga had significant effect on reducing students’ anxiety. Before intervention, there was no significant difference between student's anxiety level in control and experimental groups (p-value: 0.139). However, after intervention, there was a significant difference between student's anxiety level in control and experimental groups (p-value Considering the significant efficiency of yoga in reducing student's anxiety, representatives and those who are responsible should pay attention to yoga more than before.