The effect of a prevention program based on health belief model on osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is one of the most common metabolic bone diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a prevention program based on health belief model on osteoporosis among women.

In this quasi-case study, 120 patients (60 cases and 60 control), registered under the health centers in Fasa City, Fars Province, Iran were selected in 2014. A questionnaire consisting of demographic information, Health Belief Model (HBM) constructs was used to measure nutrition and walking performance for prevention of osteoporosis before, immediately after the intervention and six months later. Bone mineral density (BMD) was recorded at the lumbar spine and femur before and six months after intervention. Data were analyzed using SPSS19 via chi-square test, independent t-test, and Repeated Measures ANOVA at significance level of 0.05.

Immediately and six months after the intervention, the case group showed a significant increase in the knowledge, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, self-efficacy, internal cues to action, nutrition and walking performance compared to the control group. Six months after the intervention, the value of lumbar spine BMD T-Score in the case group increased to 0.127, while in the control group it reduced to -0.043. The value of the Hip BMD T-Score in the intervention group increased to 0.125 but it decreased to -0.028 in the control group.

This study showed the effectiveness of knowledge, walking and diet on bone mass by HBM model. Hence, these models can act as a framework for designing and implementing educational interventions for the osteoporosis prevention.