Effect of education based on the health belief model on earthquake preparedness in women

Abstract

Earthquake as a health risk affects human health all around the world. Iran is located in an earthquake-prone area; however, Iranian people do not demonstrate appropriate preparedness for earthquakes. Women play a critical role in earthquake risk reduction. Earthquake education programs are of great significance in preparing women and their families. The behavioral theory-based education can be an effective framework for facilitating earthquake preparedness. This study aimed to determine the effect of education based on the health belief model (HBM) on earthquake preparedness in women living in Hamadan City, Iran. The study presented the results of a quasi-experimental study on 120 women (60 women in an experimental group and 60 women in a control group) admitted to comprehensive health centers, who were selected using the multi-stage random sampling method. Earthquake preparedness was assessed with a researcher-made HBM questionnaire and a checklist before and two months after HBM-based education in three 45–60 min sessions. The collected data was analyzed using Independent samples t-test, Paired samples t-test, and ANCOVA. The results showed that after HBM-based education, the scores of awareness, HBM constructs, namely perceived susceptibility, perceived servility, perceived benefits, perceived self-efficacy constructs (except for cues to action), and earthquake preparedness increased in the intervention group compared to the control group (P < 0.001). Given the positive impact of HBM-based education on awareness, most of the HBM constructs, and earthquake preparedness, HBM-based education should be applied with more focus on cues to action for earthquake preparedness.