The Effect of Education Based Health Belife Model on Preventive Behaviors of Mother About Iron Deficiency Anemia in Children: Aneducational Controlled Trial

Background: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is the most common hematological disease in infancy and childhood. Therefore, it is necessary to provide maternal education using models that identify factors affecting behavior. Hence, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of maternal education based on the health belief model (HBM) on preventive behaviors of IDA in children aged 1-6 years in rural health centers of Babol, Mazandaran Province, Iran in 2015. Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, 119 mothers were selected through multi-stage random sampling and divided into two groups of intervention and control. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire whose validity and reliability were studied and confirmed. A pretest was conducted in both groups. Need assessment was done according to the pretest results, and educational intervention was performed in four educational sessions in the intervention group. The same questionnaire was applied for posttest three months after the intervention. SPSS version 20 was used for data analysis. Results: There was no significant difference in the mean scores of awareness, HBM constructs, and performance of the mothers between the two groups before the intervention (P>0.05) while the difference was significant after the intervention (P<0.001). The mean score of performance, increased significantly from 80.84 to 88.68 in the intervention group after the intervention (P<0.001). Conclusion: Educational intervention, according to the HBM based on a primary needs assessment effectively improves maternal performance about IDA prevention in children. Therefore, it is suggested that these interventions replace conventional educational programs. Trial registration: This trial has been registered at IRCT, IRCT2014082118892N1. Registered on 2014-11-23, https://en.irct.ir/trial/17015