The effect of health belief model–based intervention on HIV/AIDS preventive behaviors among women in Tehran

Given the importance of education in preventing infection of AIDS, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of Health Belief Model on HIV/AIDS preventive behaviors among women.

This quasi-experimental study was carried out on 100 women (two groups each containing 50 participants) in 2020. Participants were selected using convenience sampling method. Data were collected in two stages (before and two months after the intervention) using the questionnaire based on the construct of the HBM model. According to the pre-test results, the educational intervention was designed and performed on the intervention group during five1-hour sessions. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS-23. Ethical considerations were considered at all stages of the study.

Demographic variables were not significantly different between the control and intervention groups (P>0.05). Before the intervention, there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of the HBM constructs (P>0.05), but after the intervention, the scores of awareness (P=0.001) perceived sensitivity (P=0.02), perceived severity (P=0.012), perceived benefits (P=0.03), and perceived self-efficacy (P=0.001) increased in the intervention group and the scores of perceived barriers (P=0.05) decreased. It is worth mentioning that there was no significant difference in the scores of none of the HBM constructs in the control group after the intervention (P>0.05).

By increasing women's awareness and sensitivity to AIDS and recognizing the barriers and benefits of preventive behaviors, while trying to increase self-efficacy, they come to the conclusion that by performing healthy behaviors and prevention, can protect themselves from AIDS.