Effect of Education on Promoting Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors That Prevent Breast Cancer in Middle-Aged Women: Application of Protection Motivation Theory

BACKGROUND: In recent years, an increased incidence of breast cancer has made this disease the most common malignancy among Iranian women. Since education plays an important role in the implementation of preventive behaviors in breast cancer treatment, this study investigates the effect of educational interventions on the promotion of lifestyle-related behaviors that prevent breast cancer in middle-aged women. METHODS: In this randomized control study, 120 women referred to Neyshabur Health Services Centers were randomly selected and divided into two groups: an intervention group (60 subjects) and a control group (60 subjects). An educational intervention was carried out over five sessions, based on protective motivation theory constructs. Participants completed a researcher-designed questionnaire immediately and again 2 months after the intervention. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS ver. 19.0 software (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). RESULTS: The results revealed a significant difference between the mean scores of participants exposed to protective motivation theory, awareness, and physical activities immediately and also 2 months after the intervention (P<0.05). Although the healthy diet scores of the two groups differed significantly immediately after the educational intervention (P<0.05), there was no significant difference between the groups 2 months after the intervention (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Given the effective role of education in protective motivation theory and the physical activity levels of the women who participated in this research, it seems clear that the women’s financial status shaped their ability to consume more fruits and vegetables. As this social element impacts the health of individuals, training programs alone cannot succeed.