The Effect of Education Based on Health Belief Model on Knowledge and Attitude of Health Care Workers towards Colon Cancer Screening in Yazd, Iran

Noncommunicable disease prevention is an important issue in promoting health services and its training is possible through health education models and theories. The present study aimed to determine the effect of education based on the health belief model on the knowledge and attitude of health care workers towards colon cancer screening in Yazd, Iran.

In this quasi-experimental study, all 28 health care workers working at the Health Center of Yazd, Iran, were selected for the study. For the purpose of data collection, a questionnaire comprising of two sections was used. 1) Demographic items. 2) knowledge-related items, including perceived sensitivity, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, self-efficacy, and perceived behavior. A three-session educational intervention was provided. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS (version 20) software and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Paired t-test, and Wilcoxon tests were used in the current study.

The results of the present study showed that after the educational intervention, the mean score of the health care workers' knowledge about colon cancer screening significantly increased (P=0.013). In addition, the mean scores of the perceived sensitivity (P=0.047), perceived severity (P=0.324), perceived benefits (P<0.001), self-efficacy (P=0.003), and perceived behavior (P<0.001) increased after the educational intervention. However, the mean score of perceived barriers decreased after the intervention (P=0.746).

Health belief model constructs can be used as an appropriate framework for designing colon cancer screening interventions to improve the health-promoting behaviors of health care workers.