The effect of educational intervention based on Health Belief Model on University students' attitude towards smoking prevention in Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran

According to the researchers' recommendations for applying the Health Belief Model (HBM) in smoking prevention, increasing smoking among students and the role of attitude in smoking prevention, this study was implemented aimed to determine the effect of educational intervention based on HBM on University students' attitude towards smoking prevention.

This was a quasi-experimental interventional study that was conducted in 2016 and among 130 dormitory students of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran (65 in each intervention and control group). Data gathering tool was demographic and background characteristics questionnaire and a valid and reliable questionnaire based on HBM about smoking disadvantage that was completed in two stages before and three months after the intervention. Educational intervention was performed using telegram application and educational messages were sent to the students of the intervention group in 6 sessions. The collected data were analyzed using proportional tests and SPSS software version 18.  

Before the intervention, there was no significant difference between demographic and background variables, and mean scores of all the constructs of HBM in both groups (P>0.05). Three months after intervention, comparing two groups showed that the mean scores of all the constructs have changed significantly in intervention group compared to control group (P<0.05). 

Considering the effectiveness of intervention through telegram application and based on HBM on university students' attitudes toward smoking prevention, it is suggested that research be conducted on the effects of telegram usage on other health problems of university students.