Promoting AIDS Preventive Beliefs in Turkmen Students by Using the Health Belief Model in Aq-Qala

Background and Objec ti ve: AIDS is one of the most important infec ti ous diseases in the world and the disease is increasing especially among young people. Since the youth are exposed to high-risk behaviors, the aim of this study was to inves ti gate the e ff ect of educa ti on based on the Health Belief Model in crea ti ng AIDS preven ti ve beliefs in Turkmen girl students. Materials and Methods: This randomized controlled fi eld trial study was done on 78 female high school students in Aq-Qala, Golestan province. Using mul ti -stage sampling, two high schools in the interven ti onal group and two high schools in the control group were selected, then two classes selected from each high school, data were collected before and a ft er of interven ti on by using a ques ti onnaire based on HBM. Data were analyzed using SPSS.17 so ft ware and Chi-square, Fisher exact test, T-paired test, Wilcoxon, Independent T-test, and ANCOVA. Results: Before training, there was not a signi fi cant di ff erence in the mean scores of the health belief model constructs and in terms of demographic characteris ti cs between two groups except in knowledge construct. A ft er the educa ti onal interven ti on, the T-paired test showed that the mean of knowledge and perceived suscep ti bility were increased signi fi cantly, and the mean of perceived barriers was decreased signi fi cantly in the experimental group (P<0.05). ANCOVA also showed that compared with the control group, knowledge and perceived suscep ti bility were increased signi fi cantly a ft er the interven ti on. Conclusion: According to the present study, educa ti on based on the Health Belief Model was e ff ec ti ve on the knowledge and perceived suscep ti bility. It is suggested that educa ti onal interven ti ons based on Health Belief Model be designed and implemented to promote AIDS preven ti ve beliefs in high school female students.