Application of Health Belief Model on Nutritional Behavior Change in Women with Type 2 Diabetes in Shahrekord

Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes in the world. Health education can prevent complications or disease progression in patients by changing their behavior. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of applying the health belief model on the change of nutritional behavior in women with type 2 diabetes in Shahrekord.

This study is a quasi-experimental study with control group. The target group is patients referring to health centers in Shahrekord. The instrument of study is a 3-part questionnaire including demographic information, model constructs Health Belief and self-assessment checklist of nutritional behaviors. The intervention was conducted in 40-minute six sessions. Data were analyzed by SPSS software and statistical tests before, immediately and three months after the intervention.

The difference between the mean scores of nutritional behaviors and structures of the health belief model, which included: awareness, perceived sensitivity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers before, after and 3 months after the intervention was significant (P <0.05). Among the constructs of the health belief model, the perceived intensity construct was not significant despite the increasing trend (P <0.05).

The findings of this study indicate that education based on the Health Belief Model will improve the nutritional behaviors of female patients with type 2 diabetes and help planners and policymakers to take fundamental steps to change the behavior of this group of patients.