Effect of Health Belief Model Based Nutrition Education on Dietary Habits of Secondary School Adolescent Girls in Sharkia Governorate | ||||
| The Egyptian Journal of Community Medicine | ||||
| Article 4, Volume 36, Issue 3, July 2018, Page 35-47 PDF (493.74 K) | ||||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/ejcm.2018.16330 | ||||
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| Abstract | ||||
| Background: Adolescents need much attention as they constitute one-fifth of the total population and about 84% of this population live in developing countries. Also, they are susceptible to poor nutritional status if they do not meet their increased nutritional needs because of growth spurt, psychological and sexual maturity and cognitive development occurring during this period. Objectives: To assess the dietary habits of secondary school adolescent girls before and after an intervention nutrition education program. Methods: an intervention study was conducted on 108 adolescent girls aged between 15-17 years from one of female secondary governmental schools in Zagazig district at Sharkia Governorate, Egypt from September 2015 to February 2016. The study was performed in three stages; the 1st stage was assessment of dietary habits by a valid pretested dietary questionnaire on food habits, eating behavior and nutritional knowledge that was modified by adding a new section on Health Belief Model constructs, the 2nd stage was application of Health Belief Model (HBM) based nutrition education program, and the 3rd stage was reassessment of the same study participants with the same questionnaire to assess the effectiveness of intervention. Results: Nutrition education has significantly improved the consumption pattern of different foods where the percent of girls who followed the servings of healthy food groups and avoid consumption of unhealthy foods (fast, fried, canned foods), unhealthy drinks (carbonated and caffeinated drinks), and excess intake of salt and sugar/sweet were significantly increased after nutrition education. The percent of girls who followed recommended dietary, lifestyle and physical activity and food safety and behavior in hygiene practices had statistically significantly increased after intervention (P <0.05). After intervention there was an improvement in the mean of nutrition knowledge score from (4.77± 2.7) to (6.2±2.1). The mean knowledge on healthy and unhealthy lifestyle habits and foods was improved from (2.36±1.01) to (3.8±0.68). The mean knowledge score on food safety was improved from (3.79±2.54) to (6.0±1.68), all with (p <0.05). The mean scores of Health Belief Model constructs were significantly improved. Conclusion and recommendation: Nutrition education based on HBM brought significant improvements in not only nutritional knowledge of adolescent girls but also translated some of them into action. HBM-based strategies can be recommended as effective communication channels to improve dietary habits of female students. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| Adolescent girls; nutrition behaviors; HBM | ||||
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