Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 May 30:2:23.
doi: 10.4103/2277-9531.112699. eCollection 2013.

Knowledge, beliefs and preventive behaviors regarding Influenza A in students: a test of the health belief model

Arash Najimi  1 , Parastoo Golshiri
Affiliations

Knowledge, beliefs and preventive behaviors regarding Influenza A in students: a test of the health belief model

Arash Najimi et al. J Educ Health Promot. .

Abstract

Background: The higher prevalence rate of influenza A among adolescence emphasizes the importance of preventative strategies among this age group of population. The aim of this study was to evaluate the preventive behaviors of high school students regarding type A influenza, in Shahrekord, Iran.

Materials and methods: In this cross-sectional study, 313 high school students were enrolled. Preventive behaviors of influenza A was evaluated by components of the Health Belief Model (HBM), using a questionnaire which its reliability was verified through a pilot study (alpha score 0.8). Data analysis was done by descriptive statistics, independent t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient.

Findings: Mean age of the students was 16.31 years. Knowledge, perceived severity and perceived barriers were in the modest level among the students. The highest scores were related to perceived susceptibility (75.4%) and perceived benefit (55.6%). Mass media was the main source of their information regarding influenza A.

Conclusion: Considering the findings of this study and the relation between HBM components and the preventive behaviors of students, it seems that using HBM could be useful in improving preventive behaviors of influenza A among the studied population.

Keywords: Health belief model; influenza A; preventive behaviors; student.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Ungchusak K, Sawanpanyalert P, Hanchoworakul W, Sawanpanyalert N, Maloney SA, Brown RC, et al. lessons learned from influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 pandemic response in thailand. Emerg Infect Dis. 2012;18:1058–64. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Haghdoost AA, Gooya MM, Baneshi MR. Modelling of H1N1 flu in Iran. Arch Iran Med. 2009;12:533–41. - PubMed
    1. Yang H, Qiao C, Tang X, Chen Y, Xin X, Chen H. Human Infection from Avian-like Influenza A (H1N1) Viruses in Pigs, China. Emerg Infect Dis. 2012;18:1144–6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Peacock G, Moore C, Uyeki T. children with special health care needs and preparedness: Experiences from seasonal influenza and the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2012;6:91–3. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kamigaki T, Oshitani H. Lancet conferences: Influenza in the Asia-Pacific. Expert Rev Vaccines. 2009;8:1527–9. - PubMed