Evaluation of the Educational Nutrition Intervention's Effects on Healthy Nutritional Behaviors Promotion in Elderly of Sanandaj: Application BASNEF Model

Introduction Poor nutrition is the underlying cause of many diseases in the elderly and imposes enormous costs to the governments. Education of proper nutrition has an important role in health promotion of elderly persons. This study is conducted to assess the effect of education based on the BASNEF model on promotion of healthy nutritional behaviors in elderly, Sanandaj.
Materials and Methods This was a quasi-experimental study that conducted on 110 elderly people in health centers, Sanandaj. Data collected through a researcher-made questionnaire consisted of two parts: the basic and demographic questions and questions related to the BASNEF model. After selecting two groups of Intervention and control randomly, questionnaires were completed and required data received. Then, intervention was administered to the control group. The control group received no intervention. 6 weeks after the intervention, the questionnaire was completed by two groups. Finally, information received from the two groups was compared before and 6 weeks after the intervention. The data obtained was analyzed by SPSS16. The results in less than 0.05 were considered as significant results.
Results Based on the findings of this study, after the intervention, the mean score of knowledge, behavioral beliefs, attitude toward the behavior, and subjective norms significantly increased in the intervention groups compared to the control, however, mean score of normative Beliefs, enabling factors and intention in the intervention groups was not significantly than the control group.
Conclusion The results of this study showed that nutritional education based on the BASNEF model can be effective on promote healthy nutritional behaviors in elderly.