The Effect of Educational Intervention in Promoting Safe Behaviors in a Sample of Iranian Primary School Students: An Application of the Health Belief Model

PURPOSE: Road traffic accidents account for the biggest mortality rate in Iran and children are among the main victims of these accidents. The present study was conducted to assess the effect of an educational intervention based on the Health Belief Model on behaviors associated with obeying traffic regulations in primary school students during the academic year 2014-15 in Khorramabad, Iran.

METHODS: The present quasi-experimental has a pre-post-intervention design and was conducted on 106 sixth-grade primary school students selected through multi-stage sampling and divided into an intervention and a control group. The students were assessed before, a week after and two months after the intervention. Data were collected using a two-part questionnaire containing a demographic section and a section with items on the constructs of the Health Belief Model. The data obtained were then analyzed in SPSS-20.

RESULTS: The mean scores of perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, self-efficacy and cues to action significantly improved in the intervention group compared to the control group (P<0. 01).

CONCLUSION: An educational intervention based the Health Belief Model managed to effectively improve behaviors associated with obeying traffic regulations.