مجله آموزش و سلامت جامعه
سال نهم شماره 4 (Dec 2022)

 This study aimed to investigate the rational medication use of health students, their health literacy (HL), the associations of these factors with sociodemographic factors, and the contribution of HL to the rational use of medication (RUM).

 Data for this cross-sectional study were collected from 1256 health students between February and June 2020 in Turkey, using a Sociodemographic Information Form, the Rational Medication Use Scale, and the Turkish version of the European HL Scale.

 The sociodemographic characteristics of the participants were not associated with their RUM. HL level was higher in the participants who were using medication regularly, those over the age of 20, and those with good income levels (P<0.05). The participants had a good level of HL (112.11±12.22), and they used medications moderately (38.40±3.83). The total score of HL and the score of understanding dimension of HL were associated with the RUM (P<0.05).

 These findings provide a way to identify fallacies regarding rational medication use. There should also be continuous development of all dimensions of HL to maintain rational medication use behaviors. The findings obtained in this study provide basic data for educators and educational administrators to better support students with appropriate training programs to increase HL and rational medication use. A well-planned structured education program to provide information should be introduced urgently to raise the awareness of health students about the harmful consequences of irrational medication use.

 With a focus on people’s beliefs, a health belief model (HBM) attempts to define and promote the health performances of different population groups. The current study aimed to determine the effect of education, based on the HBM, on promoting the oral health behaviors of adolescent girls in Shahrekord.

 This interventional study was conducted on female students in junior high schools in Shahrekord during the educational year 2018-2019. Using the cluster sampling method, a total of 80 adolescent girls were selected from public schools in Shahrekord and randomly divided into experimental and control groups. The required data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire before, immediately after, and two months after the intervention. In addition, a standard checklist was employed to evaluate the station of oral health. The training was provided to the members of the experimental group in seven sessions, each lasting 50-60 minutes. Using SPSS 21, the data were analyzed via paired t test, independent t test, and repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA).

 After the intervention, the mean scores of perceived sensitivity, perceived severity, perceived benefit, perceived barriers, and perceived self-efficacy in the experimental group increased significantly (f=61.12, P<0.001). Moreover, the mean scores of oral health behaviors in the experimental group significantly increased two months after training (P<0.001).

 Training based on the HBM had an important role in creating a favorable attitude and thus practicing oral health behaviors in students.

 Hepatitis B (HB) is one of the important common occupational diseases, and health care workers are one of the most at-risk groups. The current study aimed to investigate the best psycho-social predictors of HB preventive behaviors among nurses by using the theory of planned behavior (TPB).

 The current research was a cross-sectional study. An anonymous self-reported scale according to the TPB determinants was distributed among 330 nurses in Kermanshah, and 299 (90.6%) questionnaires were returned. Nurses were randomly selected among different teaching hospitals in Kermanshah in 2016. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 16 using Pearson correlation, one-way analysis of variance, independent samples t test, and linear regression tests.

 The mean score for the HB preventive behaviors was 3.14±1.45 ranging from 1 to 5. The TPB determinants accounted for 21% of the variance in nurses’ HB preventive behaviors. Attitude and perceived behavior control (PBC) were the best determinants of performing HB preventive behaviors. Furthermore, higher education level, gender (female), and family history of HB were effective in the higher score of HB prevention behaviors (P<0.001).

 In developing programs and policies to prevent HB among nurses in Iran, attitude and PBC should be considered. These findings may guide HB interventions to improve the capacity to seek HB preventive behaviors.

 There is a growing interest in the study of healthy lifestyles due to their innumerable benefits. Several studies have shown that students tend to adopt less healthy lifestyles at the beginning of their university careers. This study explored the perceptions of undergraduate students at the University of Seville, Spain, about their lifestyle habits.

 The study design was a descriptive survey, and a specially designed questionnaire was administered to a sample of 1.478 students. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis using SPSS software, version 27.

 The surveyed students considered that they have healthy lifestyle habits, although with some weaknesses in the development of certain habits, which were exacerbated during exam periods. Men reported better sleep and physical activity habits than women, while women considered their diet to be healthier (P=0.001). It was further found that healthier lifestyle habits depend on the education level of the mother (P=0.001).

 It can be concluded that it is important to implement educational policies aimed at promoting and advising students on healthy lifestyle habits. Such policies would be especially useful before the start of exam periods when certain habits began to deteriorate.

 Social participation is one of the most important factors in the health of the elderly and also the main goal of health-related interventions. The purpose of this study was to assess social participation and its related factors in the elderly women population.

 This cross-sectional study was conducted on 300 women aged 60 and older in Hamadan, Iran, in 2020. The samples were selected by a simple random sampling method and according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. A demographic questionnaire, Women’s Social Participation Factors Questionnaire, and mini-mental state examination were completed, and data were obtained from the participants by trained questionnaires.

 The mean social participation score was 70.8±10.7, and scores ranged from 0 to 120. The level of social participation was moderate in 82% of the participants, weak and insufficient in 16.3%, and strong in 1.7% of participants. The obtained results indicated that 39% of the participants were employed before the elderly, and 22.67% had regular employment in old age. There were different types of occupation among this group: 30.33% had paid jobs, 23.67% voluntary jobs, 62% religious activities, and 76% were jobless. Moreover, a significant difference was observed between social participation and elderly employment history (P<0.01), level of education (P=0.01), and regular physical activity (P=0.03).

 The social participation of elderly women was found to be mostly moderate in this study, and people with higher education, regular physical activity, and a vocational history before old age had better social participation.

 Research conducted on oil region workers has shown that numerous ranges of physical stressors together with behavioral patterns can affect the enhancement of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of educational intervention to promote the preventive behaviors of CVD using the Health Belief Model (HBM).

 The participant of this quasi-experimental study included 228 workers (114 control and 114 experimental cases) working in oil regions. Data were collected through questionnaires containing demographic information, knowledge, and constructs of HBM. The experimental group received an education with WhatsApp. Workers completed the questionnaires before and after the education and the 3-month follow-up. Data were analyzed using SPSS 24.0.

 The t test analyses showed no significant differences between the control and experimental groups at baseline. The results indicated the changes in outcome variables across time for groups. Except for perceived severity and perceived barriers, there were significant interaction effects between the time and group. A significant correlation was found between behavior and health belief subscales and knowledge, except for perceived severity and cues to action.

 The findings of this research confirmed the usefulness of the educational intervention based on the HBM and the necessity to apply designed programs to improve preventive behavior adoption. Preventive education with attention to decreasing unhealthy lifestyles must be designed based on the requirements and target group characteristics to prevent CVD risks.

 Athletes’ use of androgenic-anabolic steroids (AASs) is a significant health problem. This study aimed to determine factors associated with AAS in male bodybuilders by applying the theory of planned behavior (TPB).

 Using a multistage random sampling procedure, this descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was performed on 429 athletes participating in gyms in Qom, Iran, in 2019. The data collection tool was a questionnaire, including demographic information and questions related to TPB constructs. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, logistic regression, and linear regression using SPSS software, version 16.

 The results demonstrated that 188 (48.2%) athletes had a history of AAS use. The attitude (β=0.39), subjective norm (β=0.26), and perceived behavioral control (β=-0.36) predicted 38% of the variance of intention to AAS use. Further, behavioral intention was the statistically significant predictor of AAS use among the studied athletes (OR=0.83, 95% CI: 0.78-0.87). Variables such as having friends (OR=2.06, 95% CI: 1.28-3.30) or a sports coach using AAS (OR=3.1, 95% CI: 1.58-6.42) and having a history of supplementation use (OR=5.8, 95% CI: 2.65-12.8), along with age (OR=4.3, 95% CI: 0.35-53.6) had a significantly predictive role in using AAS.

 The findings revealed that nearly half of the studied athletes had a history of using AAS and supplements. TPB is applicable to identify the determinants of beliefs, intention, and behavior to use AAS among athletes. These findings can be useful in designing appropriate programs to prevent AAS use.

 Recent data from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) confirm that diabetes, along with advanced age, is an important risk factor for adverse prognosis. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the status of COVID-19 prevention behaviors and related beliefs among diabetic patients in Hamadan province using protection motivation theory (PMT).

 This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from April to September 2020. The research population included all diabetics, of whom 355 patients, who referred to an adult endocrinologist in Hamadan, were selected using the convenience sampling method. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire with demographic variables and PMT constructs. Data were analyzed by SPSS 22 using descriptive statistics, correlation, and logistic regression.

 According to the result, the PMT construct explained 15% of the variance in the frequency of the intention to perform preventive behaviors. Perceived sensitivity (β=-0.128), perceived response efficiency (β=0.140), and perceived response cost (β=0.386) were the best significant predictors of behavior (P<0.05). There was a significant relationship between gender (P<0.001), marital status (P<0.001), and level of education (P=0.040) in observing preventive behaviors.

 It is necessary to enhance the levels of awareness and self-efficacy of diabetic patients to reduce fear in this at-risk group. Further, it is appropriate to use PMT to promote preventive behaviors.

 Self-medication is one of the challenging issues in health care systems. Health literacy seems to be an important factor in self-medication behaviors. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between health literacy and self-medication among undergraduate students of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences.

 Using a cross-sectional survey method, this descriptive-analytical study was conducted in 2020. Among 2600 undergraduate students of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, including nonclinical students, 335 people were selected by the convenience sampling technique. Data were collected using two questionnaires, including a standard health literacy questionnaire and a researcher-made self-medication questionnaire. The linear regression model was employed to analyze data by SPSS, version 23.

 The results revealed that 174 people (52%) of the statistical population were women, and there is a significant difference between males and females in terms of self-medication (P=0.022). The effect of gender on self-medication was statistically significant (P=0.013), and self-medication decreased slightly more with increasing health literacy in males than in females. In general, without considering gender, the relationship between health literacy and self-medication was statistically significant (P=0.007), while health literacy had a negative relationship with self-medication.

 Health literacy among students was at an adequate level, and their level of self-medication is high. Health literacy as a factor affecting the capacity for decision-making and action in the field of health has a significant relationship with self-medication behavior. Therefore, due to its negative consequences, it is necessary to take measures to reduce this social phenomenon.