The child-to-family education program regarding self-medication: A theory-based interventional study

Self-medication is considered one of the largest social, economic, and health problems in developing communities, including Iran. The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of a child to family communication approach to self-medication based on the Health Belief Model [HBM].

This study is a quasi-experimental study that was conducted on 124 students in the fourth grade and their mothers in the intervention and control groups in Isfahan city, Iran. Using multi-stage simple random sampling, two primary schools were selected from each group, and then one class was selected from each primary school. Students in the intervention group attended the educational sessions. Then, the students were required to transfer their education to their families. The impact of education on mothers was evaluated two months after the last session. Data were collected before and after the intervention with a researcher-created questionnaire based on the HBM and were analysed using the SPSS 17 software package, with chi-square, Mann-Whitney U, and Wilcoxon tests.

Before training, there was not a significant difference in the mean scores of the HBM constructs in terms of the demographic characteristics between the two groups. After the educational intervention, the mean of knowledge and HBM constructs were increased significantly, and the mean of perceived barriers decreased significantly in the experimental group [P < 0.001].

According to the present study, the child-to-family education based on the HBM was effective. It is suggested that educational interventions based on the HBM be designed and implemented to decrease self-medication in Iranian families.