Health Belief Model-based Intervention on Women's Knowledge and Perceived Beliefs about Warning Signs of Cancer

OBJECTIVE: Early detection of cancers essentially depends on knowledge of the warning signs. This study, therefore, aimed at investigating the effect of Health Belief Model (HBM)-based educational intervention on the knowledge and perceived beliefs of women about the warning signs of cancer. METHODS: This experimental study with intervention (n = 80) and control (n = 80) groups was performed at four urban health centers affiliated to the university. Data collection was done in two phases, before and one month after the educational intervention, using three instruments, a demographic-clinical information questionnaire, the awareness questionnaire on cancer warning signs, and the cancer warning signs-HBM questionnaire. RESULTS: The results of the multivariate repeated-measures analyses of variance indicated that the hypothesis of this study was confirmed. It means that “women's knowledge and their perceived beliefs of cancer warning signs” improved after HBM-based educational intervention in the intervention group, compared to the controls over time. Thus, the “level of knowledge” and perceived beliefs of the women in the intervention group compared to the controls increased, in terms of perceived “sensitivity,” “severity,” “benefits,” “barriers,” “cue to action,” and “self-efficacy” over time (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: It could be hoped that this intervention would be effective for improving the performance of women in health-promoting behaviors of cancer prevention. It is recommended that health-care providers plan for HBM-based educational interventions, based on educational needs of the target groups at different community levels.