The Effect of Educational Intervention Based on Health Belief Model on Eye Care Practice of Type II Diabetic Patients in Southern Iran

BACKGROUND: The ocular complication caused by diabetes is one of the most common reasons of blindness in the world. This study aimed to investigate the effect of educational intervention on eye care practice of type II diabetic patients based on health belief model (HBM) in Fasa city. METHODS: This study was a quasi-experimental study on 100 patients with type II diabetes referred to the diabetes center in Fasa city, Fars province, Iran, in 2019. Data were collected using a valid self-reported questionnaire including demographic variables, knowledge, and HBM (perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, self-efficacy, and cues to action), and eye care performance (based on self-report) and the level of HbA1cof both groups were measured before and three months after the educational intervention. The experimental group received training in eight sessions; each session lasted for 50 to 55 minutes. In order to analyze the studied data, SPSS 22 software (SPSS Inc., IBM, Chicago, IL, USA), Chi-square, independent t-test, and paired t-test have been used. P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. RESULTS: The results showed that the mean scores of knowledge (P < 0.001) and HBM components (P < 0.001) in the experimental and control groups after intervention have a significant difference. After the training program, eye care performance in the experimental group was better than that in the control group (P < 0.001). Furthermore, HbA1c (P < 0.001) improved significantly in the experimental group compared to the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Planning and implementing education using the HBM to improve eye care performance in diabetic patients are very effective and beneficial. Moreover, educational programs based on health education and health promotion models for diabetic patients for preventing side effects caused by diabetes should be performed.