Department of Health Education and Promotion, School of Public Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
Front Public Health. 2024 Feb 8;12:1175262. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1175262. eCollection 2024.
Given boys' low health knowledge and their unhealthy behavior during puberty, which can cause many physical, mental, and psychological problems, it is important to prevent these complications. This study was therefore aimed to determine the efficacy of a mobile health educational intervention based on the Health Beliefs Model (HBM) on Iranian adolescent boys.
This randomized controlled trial involved junior high school boys ( = 148) in Iran studying during the 2020-2021 school year. Educational content concerning healthy behaviors during puberty (e.g., the importance of bathing) was developed based on HBM and sent to the intervention group via mobile phone. HBM addresses multiple factors (e.g., perceived disease risk) that explain health behaviors. The intervention was delivered in five sessions over four weeks using real-time Internet communication and texting. The control group did not receive any intervention. One school was randomly selected from each of the four districts of the study site. The schools were then randomized into intervention and control groups. The boys were then randomly selected from each school to participate in the study. Data collected at baseline and 2-month follow-up assessments included demographic information, health knowledge (e.g., physical changes during puberty), health behaviors (e.g., bathing), and HBM constructs (e.g., self-efficacy to perform healthy behaviors). Data analysis was done using the chi-square, independent and paired tests, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).
The two groups did not differ in terms of demographic characteristics. Before the intervention, the two groups were slightly different in terms of knowledge, health behavior, and HBM constructs. Following the intervention, the scores of the intervention group improved significantly ( < 0.05). After adjusting for pre-intervention knowledge, HBM, and health behavior scores, the intervention group remained superior to the control group in terms of improvement of knowledge, HBM constructs, and healthy behaviors ( < 0.05). Effect sizes ranged from medium to large (0.25-0.86).
Mobile phone education based on the HBM is efficacious in encouraging healthy behavior in boys during puberty. Organizations interested in encouraging healthy behaviors in boys should consider the use of such a program.
鉴于男孩健康知识水平较低，且其在青春期存在不健康行为，这些行为可能导致许多身体、心理和心理问题，因此重要的是要预防这些并发症。因此，本研究旨在确定基于健康信念模型（HBM）的移动健康教育干预对伊朗青春期男孩的效果。
这项随机对照试验涉及伊朗的初中男生（n=148），他们在 2020-2021 学年期间在校学习。基于 HBM 开发了有关青春期健康行为的教育内容（例如，洗澡的重要性），并通过手机发送给干预组。HBM 涉及多个因素（例如，疾病风险感知），这些因素解释了健康行为。干预措施通过实时互联网通信和短信在四周内分五次进行。对照组未接受任何干预。从研究地点的四个区中各随机选择一所学校。然后，将学校随机分为干预组和对照组。然后从每所学校中随机选择男生参加研究。在基线和 2 个月随访评估时收集的资料包括人口统计学信息、健康知识（例如，青春期的身体变化）、健康行为（例如，洗澡）和 HBM 结构（例如，执行健康行为的自我效能感）。使用卡方检验、独立和配对检验以及协方差分析（ANCOVA）进行数据分析。
两组在人口统计学特征方面无差异。在干预前，两组在知识、健康行为和 HBM 结构方面略有不同。干预后，干预组的评分显著提高（<0.05）。在调整了干预前的知识、HBM 和健康行为评分后，干预组在知识、HBM 结构和健康行为的改善方面仍优于对照组（<0.05）。效应大小范围为中等至较大（0.25-0.86）。
基于 HBM 的手机教育在鼓励青春期男孩的健康行为方面是有效的。有兴趣鼓励男孩健康行为的组织应考虑使用此类方案。
