Investigating Preventive Nutrition Behaviors For Cardiovascular Diseases Based on the Health Belief Model in Women in Behbahan, Iran

Background: Today, cardiovascular diseases are one of the main causes of mortality around the world, including Iran. One of the important factors in preventing these diseases is healthy nutrition behaviors. Therefore, the current study used the health belief model to investigate preventive nutrition behaviors for cardiovascular diseases in women in the city of Behbahan, Iran. Methods: This descriptive study was carried out from March 2015 to March 2016 on 63 housewives visiting health care centers in Behbahan. The data gathering tool was a valid and reliable questionnaire based on the health belief components filled by the participants in the study. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and the Pearson correlation test at the significance level of p < 0.05 on SPSS 16. Results: The mean score was 68.57 ± 14.25 for awareness, 55.65 ± 10.02 for perceived susceptibility, 58.63 ± 12.67 for perceived severity, 63.68 ± 13.19 for perceived benefits, 59.46 ± 15.83 for perceived barriers, and 43.84 ± 7.27 for self-efficacy. The difference between participants with and without diet experiences was not significant for any of the health belief model dimensions. There was also no significant difference in the mean dimension scores between people with and without a family history of cardiovascular diseases (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Considering the average awareness of women, it seems that the implementation of programs based on educational models can help reduce the number of cardiovascular diseases