Health Belief Model and Reasoned Action Theory in Predicting Water Saving Behaviors in Yazd, Iran

Background: People's behaviors and intentions about healthy behaviors depend on their beliefs, values, and knowledge about the issue. Various models of health education are used in deter-mining predictors of different healthy behaviors but their efficacy in cultural behaviors, such as water saving behaviors, are not studied. The study was conducted to explain water saving beha-viors in Yazd, Iran on the basis of Health Belief Model and Reasoned Action Theory. Methods: The cross-sectional study used random cluster sampling to recruit 200 heads of households to collect the data. The survey questionnaire was tested for its content validity and reliability. Analysis of data included descriptive statistics, simple correlation, hierarchical multiple regression. Results: Simple correlations between water saving behaviors and Reasoned Action Theory and Health Belief Model constructs were statistically significant. Health Belief Model and Reasoned Action Theory constructs explained 20.80% and 8.40% of the variances in water saving beha-viors, respectively. Perceived barriers were the strongest Predictor. Additionally, there was a sta-tistically positive correlation between water saving behaviors and intention. Conclusion: In designing interventions aimed at water waste prevention, barriers of water saving behaviors should be addressed first, followed by people's attitude towards water saving. Health Belief Model constructs, with the exception of perceived severity and benefits, is more powerful than is Reasoned Action Theory in predicting water saving behavior and may be used as a framework for educational interventions aimed at improving water saving behaviors

The Predictive Effects of Protection Motivation Theory on Intention and Behaviour of Physical Activity in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

INTRODUCTION: Theory-based education tailored to target behaviour and group can be effective in promoting physical activity.AIM: The purpose of this study was to examine the predictive power of Protection Motivation Theory on intent and behaviour of Physical Activity in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes.METHODS: This descriptive study was conducted on 250 patients in Rafsanjan, Iran. To examine the scores of protection motivation theory structures, a researcher-made questionnaire was used. Its validity and reliability were confirmed. The level of physical activity was also measured by the International Short - form Physical Activity Inventory. Its validity and reliability were also approved. Data were analysed by statistical tests including correlation coefficient, chi-square, logistic regression and linear regression.RESULTS: The results revealed that there was a significant correlation between all the protection motivation theory constructs and the intention to do physical activity. The results showed that the Theory structures were able to predict 60% of the variance of physical activity intention. The results of logistic regression demonstrated that increase in the score of physical activity intent and self - efficacy increased the chance of higher level of physical activity by 3.4 and 1.5 times, respectively OR = (3.39, 1.54).CONCLUSION: Considering the ability of protection motivation theory structures to explain the physical activity behaviour, interventional designs are suggested based on the structures of this theory, especially to improve self -efficacy as the most powerful factor in predicting physical activity intention and behaviour

The relationship between marital satisfaction andmen,s awareness and practice towards PMS among couples in Kerman

Background and Aims: Marital satisfaction makes couples feel comfort in their life. Premenstrual syndrome is an event ichallenging the social adjustment and normal activities of person. This study aims to investigate the relationship between marital satisfaction and men,s awareness and practice towards PMS in the city of Kerman in 2016.Materials and methods: This descriptive analytic study was carried out on 240 couples referred to health centers in Kerman city. The data collection was performed through the Premenstrual Syndrome Screening Tool, a standard questionnaire Index of Marital Satisfaction (IMS) to determine marital satisfaction, and a questionnaire on men,s awareness and practice towards Premenstrual syndrome. Data collected were subjected to ANOVA using SPSS software and correlation tests to evaluate differences between the results. Ethical issues were also considered in all stages of study.Results: The results indicated that there was a statistically significant relationship between men,s and women›s satisfaction. Furthermore, Pearson correlation showed a positive and statistically significant relationship between men,s and women,s satisfaction with the men,s behavior(p=0.001). However, an inverse but significant relationship between the severity of premenstrual syndrome symptoms and men,s and women,s satisfaction was obtained (p=0.002, r=0.138).Conclusion: Regarding the relationship between awarness and practice scores, it can be expected that with increased awareness of couples about premenstrual syndrome, marital satisfaction could be improved.Keywords: Marital Relationship, Premenstrual Syndrome, Awareness, Practic

Study On Social Support for Exercise And Its Impact on the Level of Physical Activity of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

BACKGROUND: Physical activity is one of the most important self-care approaches to controlling complications of type 2 diabetes. According to Bandura’s social theory, factors such as social support are effective factors in the incidence of the behaviour. AIM: This study aims to determine the level of physical activity, social support and their determinants. METHODS: This descriptive study was performed on 250 patients with type 2 diabetes by Cluster-Random Sampling method in Rafsanjan City. Data were collected using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and Social Support Questionnaire for Sport, that their validity and reliability were confirmed. The results were analysed by t-test, ANOVA and logistic regression. RESULTS: This study showed that 46.8% of the patients were in the inactive group. Social support score for exercise was low in this group. The results indicated that social support and gender are predictors of physical activity, and with an increase in the social support score, the odds of having minimal physical activity increased 1.17 fold (OR = 1.167) and men were 4.18 times more likely to have minimal physical activity (OR = 4.183). CONCLUSION: Considering the low level of physical activity and social support in diabetic patients, and the effect of social support on the prediction of physical activity, interventions are recommended to increase social support in this group

Readability and Suitability Assessment of Educational Materials in Promoting the Quality of Life for Postmenopausal Women

Introduction: Educational materials are frequently used by health providers to inform postmenopausal women about menopause acceptance behavior. However, little attention has been paid to the readability and suitability of these educational materials. The study aimed to determine the readability and suitability of educational materials in promoting the quality of life for postmenopausal women. Material and methods: Multiple instructional materials and books were used for the design and preparation of educational materials and were then tailored to the target group. Readability was measured by using the readability assessment of materials (RAM); and suitability was determined by the suitability assessment of materials (SAM) that considers characteristics such as content, graphics, layout/topography, and cultural appropriateness. Twenty reviewers, including 10 postmenopausal women, 5 postmenopausal women family members, and 5 health experts scored the educational materials. Results: The mean readability score ±standard deviation (SD) of the educational materials was10 ±1.6 and 8 ±1.4, for the pamphlet and daily activities’ booklets, respectively, which were increased to 14 ±0.6 and, 16 ±1.3, after tailoring the content. The average SAM scores before and after tailoring the content were 45% for the pamphlet, which was increased to 81%; 45% for the daily activities’ booklets, which was increased to 86%. The increase in all scores was significant (p \u3c 0.001). The final tailored educational material was rated “superior media” on the SAM ratings. Conclusions: Given that most of the printed materials are suitable for people with higher education levels, health providers are strongly advised to prepare simple and understandable education materials that may increase the likelihood of consumer perception and recall

Barriers and Incentives of Self-care from the View of Diabetic Patients and their Service Providers Using the Social Marketing Model in Ardakan, Iran

Introduction: Diabetes is the most common disease worldwide. The complications of diabetes cause economic damages and decrease patients' and their families' quality of life. Self-care is an important process in diabetes control. On the other hand, maintaining the blood glucose level at a favorable level is challenging for both the patients and the physician. This is due to systemic and individual barriers of diabetes self-care. Thus, the present study aimed to explore the barriers and incentives for self-care. Method: The present study was conducted as a qualitative study with focus group discussion (FGD) (3 sessions for patients and 3 sessions for health care providers separately). Private interviews were conducted with 25 patients and 5 health care providers until data saturation. The interviews and FGDs were transcribed and analyzed using content analysis method. Results: In analyzing the data, two main themes including barriers and incentives for self-care from the view of patients and health care providers were extracted. Based on the social marketing model, these themes were divided into four subthemes of product, place, price, and promotion. The study subjects specified the different causes of performing or not performing self-care in different areas such as exercise, nutrition, regular medical exams, and appropriate medicine use. The cost and availability of some services, physical barriers and their limitations, nonscientific health care delivery, unsuitable health care services for diabetic patients, and lack of health care packages and guidelines were reported as barriers. Moreover, successful experiences of patients and health care providers, and providing self-care facilities were reported as incentives. Conclusion: Market analysis in diabetes self-care showed that comprehensive and systematic programs for diabetic patient care, management protocol for physicians and specialists, and nutritional recommendation, traditional medicine, and exercise are more beneficial when coordinated with economic power, environmental factors, and beliefs of diabetic patients and literacy promotion Keywords: Diabetes, Social marketing, Self-care, Barriers and incentives, Qualitative researc

Development and Psychometric Assessment of a Scale for Measuring Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice About COVID-19

Background and aims: Knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) toward coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are important factors for adherence to protection strategies. The aim of this study was to construct and validate a questionnaire about the KAP of Iranians regarding COVID-19. Methods: Initially, a questionnaire about the KAP with regard to COVID-19 was constructed in this cross-sectional study. The initial questionnaire was prepared based on a review of the extensive research literature and global and national guidelines. This researcher-made questionnaire was developed using the COVID-19-KAP questionnaire, which was originally used in China in 2020, and the influenza epidemic KAP Questionnaire (2015), the MERS KAP Questionnaire (2015), the H1N1 flu KAP questionnaire (2017), and the WHO KAP questionnaire about COVID-19. The applied questionnaire consists of three parts including knowledge- (n = 26), attitude- (n = 8), and practice-related (n = 11) questions, respectively. Then, the face, content, and construct validity and the reliability of the questionnaire was determined, and analyzes were performed using SPSS v. 26 and AMOS v. 24 software. Results: In the face validity stage, 2 questions with an impact score of less than 1.5 were excluded from the questionnaire. In the content validity check, all questions had a content validity index (I-CVI) of more than 0.7. However, the content validity ratio (CVR) for 6 questions was less than 0.51, and these questions were removed accordingly. The compliance of the CVI with the chance agreement was close to one for all questions, indicating the lack of a chance agreement. In the exploratory factor analysis stage, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) value of 0.90 was obtained, implying the adequacy of the sample size for factor analysis. The significance of the Bartlett test (chi-square: 5820.06, df: 630, P<0.001) indicated a strong correlation between the questions and the appropriateness of factor analysis. Finally, 34 items in 4 domains remained in the questionnaire. Conclusion: The validity and reliability of this questionnaire were confirmed based on the findings. This Farsi KAP questionnaire can be used to assess the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice of people about COVID-19

Protective strategies among patients with cardiovascular diseases against dust phenomenon exposure in Ahvaz city based on the protection motivation theory

Background: Dust particles are one of the most important environmental problems that are threatening many countries, and patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a vulnerable group in this respect. The present study was conducted to examine the protective strategies among patients with CVDs against exposure to dust phenomenon based on the protection motivation theory (PMT). Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 183 patients with CVDs who referred to health care centers in Ahvaz city, Khuzestan province, southwest of Iran. Participants were selected from patients with CVDs recruited for routine national Package of Essential Non-communicable Disease (IRA-PEN) through random cluster sampling. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire based on the PMT. Data were analyzed using descriptive and analytical tests such as Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple linear regressions by SPSS version 22. Results: The mean scores of the constructs of perceived response efficacy (4.06 ± 20.06) and sensitivity (19.89 ± 4.30) were higher than those of other constructs. Correlation coefficient test showed a significant positive correlation between risk behaviors of exposure to dust phenomenon and self-efficacy, response efficacy and protection motivation, but negatively correlated with cost response. Also, self-efficacy variable, type of health insurance, and protection motivation were the predictive indicators of behavior. Conclusion: The constructs of the PMT explained the risk reduction behaviors of exposure to dust phenomenon in patients with CVDs. Therefore, this theory can be used as a framework for designing educational programs to increase the motivation of patients with CVDs to adopt risk reduction behaviors for exposure to dust. Keywords: Dust, Risk reduction behavior, Motivation, Self-efficacy, Ira

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Towards COVID-19 in Iran: A Population-Based Study

Abstract Background and aims: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic has far been the biggest global health threat of the 21st century. Protective measures are still one of the most effective methods for controlling COVID-19. Practicing hygiene and control measures are largely influenced by knowledge and attitude towards COVID-19. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of Iranians towards COVID-19 as well as the demographic factors related to it in April and May, 2020. Methods: The study population in this cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical, and web-based study included 3736 Iranian individuals who were collected via convenience sampling method. A validated Iranian knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) Questionnaire about COVID-19 was used for collecting the required data. Ordinal multivariate generalized estimating equations (GEEs) were applied to analyze data. Results: The majority of participants (88.1%) had considerable knowledge, the right attitude (91%), and good practices (90.3%). In the multivariate models, factors related to greater knowledge were age>20 years (P<0.001), living in the urban area (P=0.030), holding a master’s or doctoral degree (P=0.044), and a moderate financial status (P=0.001). Females displayed mor positive attitude (P=0.035). Variables related to more favorable practices were age>20 years (P<0.001), and having a good (P=0.003) or moderate (P=0.038) financial status. Conclusion: It was concluded that the participants had good knowledge and a positive attitude, as well as adopted sound practices regarding COVID-19. However, this conclusion might not have been generalizable to entire Iranian community; therefore, it was recommended that preventive measures against COVID-19 should receive continued monitoring and emphasis. Keywords: Attitudes, COVID-19, Knowledge, Practice