Effect of educational intervention on health-promoting behaviors of high school students in Karaj city

Adolescence is a critical period with changes in the physical, emotional and developmental traits which is considered as a preparation phase for adulthood. The trend of these changes will determine the health behavior of adults. Therefore, motivation of teenagers to perform healthy behaviors is a priority of community public health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the educational intervention on health promoting behaviors of high school students in the Karaj city. This experimental study was performed on 400 high school students in the Karaj city. Participants were randomly selected by multi-stage sampling method. Educational intervention was performed using lecture and question and answer method. Data were collected using the demographic and health promoting behaviors (HPLP) questionnaires and analyzed by SPSS 19. Performing educational intervention increased the mean score of some health promoting behavior dimensions including responsibility for health, physical activity, nutrition, interpersonal relationships (P<0.0001), But spiritual growth and stress management did not change significantly(P>0.05). No significant changes were observed in the dimensions of health promoting behaviors in the control group (P>0.05) The findings indicated that educational intervention could improve health-promoting behaviors of the studied population. Therefore it is necessary to design and implement such educational program for promoting healthy behaviors of students.