The effect of education based on health belief model on hand hygiene behavior in the staff of Tehran dentistry centers: A quasi‐experimental intervention study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Considering the increasing prevalence of dental services in the community and the impossibility of identifying each infected patient, hand sanitation is the most critical factor in controlling infection in these centers. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effect of educational intervention on the hand health behavior of the staff of Tehran dentistry clinics based on the health belief model (HBM). METHODS: In this quasi‐experimental study in 2017, 128 employees of the health centers were selected through a multistage sampling method and they were placed in two groups of intervention and control (each 64 people). The data was collected using a questionnaire devised by the researcher. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were determined. The questionnaire consisted of demographics, knowledge, structures of the HBM, and behavior variables. Then, the intervention was administered based on HBM‐based education. Data were analyzed by SPSS16 and independent t test, χ (2), and repeated measurement analysis of variance. RESULTS: Before the intervention, the two intervention and control groups did not differ significantly in terms of demographic variables, mean scores of knowledge, constructs of HBM, and hand hygiene behavior (p > 0.05), while the intervention group was scored higher significantly compared to the control one after the intervention (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: According to the findings, the HBM can be used as a framework for designing educational interventions to improve hand hygiene behavior to control infection in health centers.