Investigation of the Colorectal Cancer-Preventive Behaviors Based on the Health Belief Model

Colorectal cancer ranks third most common cancer in Iranian men and fourth in women. Evidence suggests that awareness and beliefs about risk factors for disease are significantly associated with screening behaviors. The present study aimed to investigate the behavior of colorectal cancer prevention based on the health belief model.

The present descriptive cross-sectional study on 382 people in rural and urban in Behshahar city in 2019-2020. Participants recruited by the random cluster sampling. Data was collected by Standard Champion Questionnaire consisting of 36 phrases and 6 dimensions including perceived sensitivity, perceived intensity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, awareness, and self-efficacy.  Frequency, mean, standard deviation, correlation coefficient and regression coefficient were estimated by using SPSS17 software.

More than half of the research population (65.8%) did not inform about the implementation of the program. Only 2.6% of people was participated at the program. Perceived intensity with regression coefficient 0.422 was the most predictive and the self-efficacy with the lowest value (b=0.226) was effective in predicting preventive behavior.

Awareness seems to be an effective factor in the practice of screening for colorectal cancer. Interventions at various levels are necessary to increase public awareness and access to prevention letters. It is recommend to use theories and models of health promotion to promote health behaviors in society.