The effect of educational intervention on knowledge and attitude of students in Izeh about cardiovascular disease: Application of the Health Belief Model

The studies indicate that the majority of healthy and unhealthy behaviors formed during adolescence and they are considered educable. Therefore, investing in the health and education of young people toward prevention of cardiovascular disease is considered as the underlying action. This study’s aim was to investigate the effect of educational intervention on knowledge and attitude of students regarding cardiovascular diseases using constructs of Health Belief Model. In this pre-post quasi experimental study that conducted throughout high schools in Izeh City, the subjects were 196 students (79 girls and 117 boys) who were selected through the multistage random sampling method; A self-designed questionnaire was prepared on the basis of the specified goals of study, and its validity and reliability were confirmed. The questionnaire was filled out in two stages, before and after the intervention. The obtained data were analyzed by SPSS20 software, descriptive statistics & T-test, Pearson and Spearman correlation statistical tests at the significant level of α=0.05. The mean of the total score of the students’ knowledge about risk factors of Cardiovascular Diseases was 12.95±4.18 before the intervention and 23.85±4.48 after the intervention (p<0.001). The mean of the student’ attitude also increased from 68.10±9.21 to 82.44±8.27 (p<0.001). The mean of all model constructs (perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, perceived self-efficacy and cues to action) before and after the intervention showed significant difference (p <0.001). The results of this study, verifies the effectiveness of educational interventions based on health belief model to promote level of knowledge and the effect on student's perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, perceived self-efficacy and cues to action in relation to heart disease and their prevention methods. Therefore, to improve the cardiovascular protective behaviors and ultimately, prevention of being infected with these diseases at older ages, applying educational program based on this model should be considered as an educational priority in schools by authorities and managers of education and health.