Health Education and Health Promotion
Year:2013 | Volume:1 | Issue:3-4|Papers Count:8

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define health communication as ‘the study and use of communication strategies to: 1. Inform and, 2. Influence individuals and community decisions that enhance health.They also proposed a 10-step framework for health communication as follows: 1. Review background information 2. Set communication objectives 3. Analyze and segment target audiences 4. Develop and pretest message concepts 5. Select communication channels 6. Create and pretest messages and products 7. Develop promotion plan/production 8. Implement communication strategies and conduct process evaluation.

Aim: Level of physical activity as key determinant of healthy lifestyle is less than what is required in individuals particularly women. Applying theories of behavioral change about complex behaviors such as physical activity leads to identify effective factors and their relations.The aim of this study was to determine predictors of exercise behavior based on developed Theory of Planned Behavior with planning constructs in military personnel’s wives.Methods: We performed this cross-sectional study on 150 military personnel’s spouses residing in organizational houses, in Tehran, Iran in 2013. The participants were randomly selected with multi-stage cluster sampling. The validity and reliability of developed scale were evaluated before conducting the path analysis. Data were analyzed using SPSS.16 and LISREL8.8.Finding: The developed model predicted 48, 11, 12 and 35 percent of the variance in intention, action planning, coping planning and behavior, respectively. Subjective norms (Beta=0.35, p<0.01) and perceived behavioral control (Beta=0.28, p<0.01) were the predictors of intention. Determinants of behavior included action planning (Beta=0.40, p<0.01), coping planning (Beta=0.39, p<0.01), intention (Beta=0.23, p<0.01) and subjective norms (Beta=0.08, p<0.01). Instrumental and affective attitude had no significant path coefficient to dependent variables. The path of perceived behavioral control to behavior was non-significant. The developed theory fitted to data better than the original theory.Conclusion: This research demonstrated relative weights and relationships of Theory of Planned Behavior constructs with action and coping planning in physical activity behavior of military staffs' spouses. It is essential to consider these effective factors in designing of health education programs.

Aims: The presence of a patient with breast cancer in the family can be considered as a guidance for further prevention and increase the susceptibility of people against this disease.Champion's health belief model scale is translated and tested in different countries, but few attempts have been made to measure this scale in women with history of breast cancer.Methods: After the standard Champion's Health Belief Model Scale was translated, 28 items were extracted with the help of panel of experts (n=13) and focus group (n=42) in four subscales. The eligible women were selected randomly (n=200) and took part in this study. The participants filled in the questionnaire through interviews. To test the construct validity of the data, the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was applied using AMOS software, moreover, test of internal consistency and test of reliability were applied by retesting (n=30).Findings: The confirmatory factor analysis, which, was repeated after omitting these two items for the subscale of perceived barriers and shows the proper fit of its structural model. Cronbach ' alpha coefficients were 0.72 (susceptibility), 0.75 (seriousness), 0.82 (benefits) and 0.76 (barriers). Internal consistency ranged from 0.64 to 0.79 and test-retest reliability correlation were from 0.67 to 0.92.Conclusions: The Persian version of the Champion's Health Belief Model Scale can be a reliable and valid measure in Iranian women with family history of breast cancer.

Aim: Education is a service, which is influenced by the provider. Nowadays, there are a lot of challenges in health care systems, which requires a proper preparation to meet them.Medical interns are one of the future components of health care system, who should be prepared very well to meet these challenges. We preformed this survey to assess the medical interns’ satisfaction in Shahid Beheshti university of Medical Sciences (SBMU) by “SERVQUAL”.Methods: Medical interns of (SBMU), who have spent at least 6 months in their internship, were included in this research. They were 141 medical interns out of all (201).Finding: This survey showed that all of SURVQUAL dimensions had gaps. Medical interns of SBMU were not satisfied with their internship. There was also no relationship between interns’ dissatisfaction and their applied-year and gender.Conclusion: The internship bylaws should be reviewed, and medical interns should have more attention from dean of medicine school, head departments, and hospital administrators.

Aim: Promotion of oral health in schools is one of the recommended polices of WHO. The aim of this study was to determine the role of Oral Hygiene Beliefs according to the Health Belief Model in regular brushing behavior, among the 9-10 years old female students.Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted on the female students of Rasht-Iran in 2012. Applying the statistical estimation, the sample population was determined 265 who were selected from 22 schools using systematic sampling method. Nearly 12 students were selected from each school using simple randomized method. Data collection instrument was a questionnaire and the results were analyzed using descriptive methods, and analytical methods including Chi-square, Mann-Whitney U test and Logistic regression.Finding: Among the samples, 17.4% brushed at least twice a day. The logistic regression analysis indicated that perceived severity (OR=0.48, 95% CI=0.27- 0.86, P=0.014), perceived barriers (OR=1.97, 95% CI=1.29- 3.02, P=0.002) and mothers' educational level (OR=4.78, 95% CI=1.24- 18.46, P=0.023) were the significant predicting factors for tooth brushing twice a day or more. There are significant statistical correlations among the perceived severity of loosing good eating and good speaking, and perceived barriers of tiredness, laziness and impatience with desirable behavior. Overall 66.5% agreed with one of the two physical barriers: painful tooth brushing and gums bleeding.Conclusion: Promoting educational level and educational programs for Iranian women are recommended. Planning useful educational interventions for the students of concrete operational stage is required attention to the application of Piaget’s Theory of cognitive development. Educational interventions should focus on items of beliefs named above. At least 70 percent of Iranian people need to learn the correct ways of brushing teeth.

Aim: Using short text messages (SMS) is the easiest and cheapest method of health education programs in order to increase women’s’ knowledge and early detection of diseases. This study was conducted in 2013 in order to compare the educational effect of breast self examination (BSE) by two different methods of SMS and lecturing in female students who work and study in non- medical fields.Method: In a quasi-experimental study, 108 twenty- two to thirty year old female students of non- medical fields were chosen by random cluster sampling and then divided into 2 groups. One group was educated by lecturing and the other by SMS. Data collection tool was a questionnaire including demographic, knowledge, attitude and performance sections (KAP) and a check list for direct observation. Collected data were analyzed by SPSS 20 software, using parametric statistical tests (paired T-test) with the significant level of p<0.05.Findings: After education in both groups, a significant difference was observed in the average scores of KAP (p=0.001). Educating by both lecturing and SMS promoted the level of KAP about BSE (p=0.001). KAP score of doing BS in text message group was higher than the lecture group (p=0.001). SMS was chosen as the best way of BSE education.Conclusion: Compared KAP scores about the quality of doing BSE in the SMS group were higher than the lecture group; therefore, it is suggested that this educating method can be used in the health education programs especially in controlling breast cancer and maintaining the level of health among women in the society.

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of the Syrian type 2 diabetic females and the way they control it.Methods: A qualitative design based on the content analysis approach was used to collect data and analyze the females' experiences with type 2 diabetes. Semi-structured interviews carried out with 12 females who had visited the Diabetic Center in Lattakia from March to December 2011.Finding: Seven major themes emerged out of the study as strategies for diabetes control: responsibility taking, illness confirmation, acquiring diabetes knowledge, self-care, sociofamily support, hopefulness and religious beliefs.Conclusion: The findings of the study can be used to empower Syrian diabetic population and can provide nurses and other health professionals with more profound understanding of how the Syrian with diabetes view their lives and their sources of strength.

Aim: Oral health is one of the most important parts of public health which significantly affects on quality of life. The purpose of this study is to assess the socio-economic statues as well as oral health behaviors among a sample of Iranian students studying in elementary level.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study which was conducted from April 2012 to November 2012. Data obtained from a face-to-face interviews with students studying in elementary schools of Chahbahar, Iran. Considering inclusion criteria, 300 eligible students were selected through a two - stage random cluster sampling. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics using SPSS version 11.5.Finding: Totally 300 students who studying in grade four or five of elementary schools took part in the study. The mean age of subjects was (11 ± 2.81). Of all students, 11.7% (n= 35) never brush their teeth, 18% (n=54) never floss and 20% (n=62) never used mouth wash. Furthermore, 94 students (31%) of students had no dental visits regularly. As the results showed, there were significant relationship between lower parents’ educational level (P=0.02), not to access to dental caries services (P=0.04) and lower income (P=0.03) and reasons for not doing oral health behaviour.Conclusion: According the results of this study the students who were in lower socio economic levels, doing less dental healthy behaviors.