Effects of an Educational Health Belief Model Program on Promoting Preventive Behaviors for Breast Cancer Among Women in Iran

Breast cancer is regarded as a healthcare issue for women worldwide and affects women of all races, ethnicities, and social classes. The study aimed to examine the effects of the health belief model (HBM)-based educational program on knowledge, practices, and how to prevent breast cancer in women who go to health centers in Iran, which is in the province of Alborz in Iran. A quasi-experimental study was carried out based on a pretest-posttest design with the control group in 2022. A study targeted 128 women in 2 interventions (n = 64) and control (n = 64) groups. The data were collected from participants using a researcher-made questionnaire developed based on key constructs of the HBM, before and 2 months after the educational intervention. Educational intervention was held for 6 sessions of 60 min duration each. The health belief model evaluates 7 components of individuals, including perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived barriers, perceived benefits, self-efficacy, cues to action, and practice. The Mann-Whitney test was utilized to compare the levels of quantitative variables between the 2 groups. A chi-squared test was utilized for the categorical variables. A robust analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was employed to evaluate the effect of the intervention on all 7 HBM components. The results showed that using the health belief model can increase awareness, perceived benefits, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, and self-efficacy of women for the prevention of breast cancer.