A Survey on Physical Activity Determinants as Osteoporosis Preventive Behavior Among Pre-university Female Students of Rafsanjan in 2017: A Descriptive Study

Increasing physical activity, as a health issue, especially among girls, is one of the recommendations of the World Health Organization for the osteoporosis prevention. The present study  was designed and implemented with the aim of determining the causes of physical activity among students regarding osteoporosis based on health belief model (HBM). This descriptive study was conducted among 470 pre-university female students of Rafsanjan city by census method in 2017-18. The data collection tool was a questionnaire including demographic characteristics, knowledge about osteoporosis and 24 questions based on HBM constructs, and it also assessed 11 physical activity questions. The tool validity was based on experts' opinion and reliability was determined using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA, independent t-test and Pearson's correlation test. The number of participants in this study was 470 students. The knowledge related to osteoporosis among students was undesirable (score 6 out of 15). 253 (53.8%) of students had moderate physical activity. There was a significant reverse correlation between the mean score of physical activity and perceived barriers (r=-0.1, p<0.001). But there was no significant relationship between physical activity and other structures and demographic characteristics (p> 0.05). Due to undesirable physical activity and knowledge of students, designing and implementing educational interventions are recommended. It is also necessary to identify other determinants affecting physical activity, such as enabling and reinforcing factors.