A Health Promotion Program based on the Health Belief Model regarding Women’s Osteoporosis

Background: Osteoporosis is one of the most common metabolic bone diseases. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of a walking education program based on the health belief model (HBM) on osteoporosis among women. Material and Methods: In this quasi-experimental research design, 120 patients (60 experimental and 60 control),who were registered with the health centers in Fasa City of Fars Province, Iran, participated in the study in 2014. A questionnaire consisting of demographic information and HBM constructs was used at pre-intervention, immediately after their intervention, and then six months later. Bone mineral density (BMD) was recorded at the lumbar spine and femur prior to and six months post-intervention. Data were analyzed using SPSS19 through chi-square test, independent ttest, repeated measure ANOVA at a significance level of 0.05. Results: Immediately and six months after the intervention, the experimental group showed increased in knowledge, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers perceived, self-efficacy, perceived internal cues to action and walking performance compared to the control group. Six months after the intervention, the value of lumbar spine BMD T-Score in the experimental group increased to 0.127, while in the control group it decreased to -0.043. The value of the hip BMD T Score in the intervention group increased to 0.125 and in contrast, it decreased to- 0.028 in the control group. Conclusions: This study showed the increased knowledge and walking behavior regarding walking benefits could improve bone density. Therefore, HBM model can be a basic framework for designing and carrying out educational interventions for women’s osteoporosis.

Keywords:

Health Belief Model , Walking program , osteoporosis , woman