The effect of educational intervention based on the health belief model on osteoarthritis-preventive behaviors in middle-aged women

Arthritis is the most common type of arthritis in people over 40 years. This study aimed to determine the effect of an educational intervention on the prevention of arthritis among middle-aged women using the health belief model.

This was a randomized controlled field trial. The study population was women aged 29–59 years who referred to health centers in Birjand. Seventy-three women were selected by a systematic random sampling method and were randomly divided into intervention (n = 36) and control (n = 37) groups. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, t-test, repeated-measures ANOVA, and Bonferroni post hoc test. As for the cases where the data were not normally distributed, the Friedman nonparametric test, Mann–Whitney U-test, and Wilcoxon post hoc tests were used.

In the intervention group, the mean score of knowledge, perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, self–efficacy, and behavior significantly increased, and the mean score of perceived barriers significantly decreased after the intervention (≤0.001). In the control group, there were significant differences in the mean scores of perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived self-efficacy, and performance after an intervention (P ≤ 0.001). However, this increase was significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group.

Based on the present study and according to the positive impact of the educational intervention based on the health belief model on the prevention of arthritis, it is recommended to use this theory in educational programs to prevent arthritis.