The Effect of a Blended Educational Program (BEP) on Cervical Cancer Screening Behavior among Housekeeper Women in West Eslamabad in 2016:an Application of Health Belief Model

Abstract

Introduction: Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide that causes more mortality each year. Given that lack of regular screening for cervical cancer is associated with an increased risk of 2 to 6 times and that the Health Belief Model (HBM) has been introduced as a suitable model to improve screening behaviors, this study was conducted aimed to survey the effect of blended educational program on cervical cancer screening behavior based on HBM among housekeeper women. Materials & methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 120 individuals of housekeeper women referring to health centre in West Eslamabad city were randomly selected. Using standardized questionnaire knowledge, HBM items and Pap test performance were measured before and after 3 months of educational intervention. The educational intervention consisted of four sessions of 45-minute-long of four weeks. Data were analyzed by software spss 21 and descriptive statistics (frequency, mean and standard deviation) and analytical (paired t, independent t and Chi-square tests) at the significant level of less than 0.05. Findings: After the educational intervention, the mean scores of knowledge and HBM items except the perceived severity, were significantly higher in the intervention group compared to control group (p less-than 0.05). Also, after intervention, 66.7 percent of women in the intervention group the ability of Pap smear screening compared to the controls were obtained. Discussion & conclusions: The results of current study showed that the combined program consisting of BEP and HBM provide a suitable framework for developing educational interventions regarding Pap test practice.