The Effect of Educational Intervention Based on the Health Belief Model on Iron and Folic Acid Consumption in Pregnant Women: A randomized controlled trial study

Abstract

Background: Anemia is a major public health problem and a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to investigate the effect of educational intervention based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) on the consumption of iron and folic acid (IFA) in pregnant women of Herat city.

Method: The present research was a randomized controlled field trial. The study was performed in the antenatal ward of health centers in Herat city. A total number of 114 pregnant women were included by two-stage cluster sampling, participants divided in two groups,  The intervention group was provided with eight training sessions but the control group received only routine services. Data were collected by a researcher-made questionnaire, its validity checked by the experts’ panel and reliability were checked by test-retest and Cronbach’s alpha. Questionnaires were filled out before, immediately, and three months after the training in the targeted group. Data were analyzed using SPSS.V.26.

Results: Except for the perceived severity and benefits, there was no significant difference between the control and intervention groups concerning the mean scores of knowledge, behavior, perceived susceptibility, perceived barriers, self-efficacy, and cues to action before training (p > 0.05), but There was a significant statistical difference between the control and intervention groups in all items (p <0.001) immediately and three months after training.

Conclusion: This study showed the effectiveness of HBM-based educational intervention on iron and folic acid consumption. Therefore, this model can be applied to designing and implementing of educational interventions.