BackgroundOral health is a basis for general health and well-being and affects physical and psychological aspects of the human life. The aim of this study was to determine the power of the health belief model in general and the role of perceived severity and its components in particular in predicting tooth brushing behavior among young adolescents.MethodsThis was a cross sectional study of a sample of female students grade four in Rasht (a metropolitan in north Iran) in 2012. A systematic random sampling method was applied to recruit students. They were asked to respond to a designed questionnaire containing items on brushing behavior based on the health belief model. In this study for the first time perceived severity and perceived barriers were divided into two parts, perceived subjective and objective severity and perceived physical and psychological barriers and were treated as independent variables. Logistic regression analysis was performed in order to identify the variables that predict the desirable behavior (brushing twice a day or more).ResultsIn all 265 female students were entered into the study. Of these, only 17.4% reported that they were brushing at least twice a day (desirable behavior). The results obtained from the logistic regression analysis indicated that perceived objective severity (OR = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.21- 0.66, P = 0.001) and feeling less perceived psychological barriers (OR = 2.60, 95% CI = 1.50- 4.52, P = 0.001) were the significant predicting factors for brushing twice a day.ConclusionThe findings suggest that perceived objective severity and perceived psychological barriers play important role in adapting a desirable health behavior among young adolescents.

Physical activity (PA) helps to prevent osteoporosis, but older women are often sedentary. This study used a pre-post randomized controlled design to evaluate a 12-week exercise education intervention program based on the stages of change (SoC) and processes of change from the transtheoretical change model (TTM) to improve adherence with strength and balance training recommendations at levels sufficient to prevent osteoporosis in Iranian women aged 40-65 years. The home-based exercise prescription consisted of strength and balance training that was progressive, individually tailored and included a walking program. Individuals in the training group (n=61) had a positive, significant progression in psychological SoC (P<0.001), whereas no progression in stages occurred in the control group (n=55). After the intervention, the training group demonstrated significant improvements in PA, lower body muscle strength, static and dynamic balance, with no significant changes in the control group. These results support the applicability of the TTM for a PA intervention and indicate that this training program is very effective in improving balance and lower body strength in older women.

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This study examined the relationships among behavior-specific cognitions and oral health behaviors using Pender's revised health promotion model. Subjects were 300 preuniversity students from 6 high schools in the Yazd district in central Iran. Suitable instruments were designed to measure concepts in the model through validity testing with an expert health panel, and reliability testing with a small sample of students (n = 30). Instruments then were administered to students. Model testing was conducted to identify factors affecting students' practice of oral health behaviors. The results from structural equation modeling indicated that behavior-specific cognitions and affect had a direct effect on oral health behaviors, except activity-related affects. Self-efficacy had an indirect effect on oral health behaviors through perceived barriers. Self-efficacy mediated the effects of behaviors-specific cognitions and affect on oral health behaviors. Together, the variables accounted for 32% of the variance in oral health behaviors. Results of this study can be used to design and evaluate interventions to promote oral health behaviors among students.

This study evaluates the safe sex determinants in college students. In the qualitative section, premarital sex, sex with steady girlfriend and religion's impact were highlighted. In the quantitative part, the relations between the religiosity score and past sexual activity, attitude, norms, and self-efficacy with regard to sexual abstinence were investigated. Students who had a higher religious score were significantly more likely to have high self-efficacy in refusing sex, and their attitudes supported their abstinence. Additionally, these students were more likely never to have had a sexual relationship. Findings suggest that greater religious involvement is a protective factor in high-risk sexual behavior.

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Introduction: Promoting self-care practice, as a critical strategy for enhancing the quality of life in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a challenging issue. This study aimed to propose a model of health-promoting self-care behaviors in MS patients. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 200 patients with MS, who had referred to the Hospital for Special Diseases in Kerman City, Iran, were chosen. The main data collection instruments were the multiple sclerosis knowledge questionnaire, the Rosenberg self-esteem scale, multiple sclerosis self-efficacy scale, questionnaire of perceived barriers and benefits of self-care behaviors, social support, the health promotion lifestyle profile II, and resilience and sense of coherence scale. Data analysis was conducted in SPSS V. 22 and AMOS18 software. The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was also used for further analysis of data Results: The model explained 82% of variance in Health-Promoting self-care Behavior (HPB). The results of the final model obtained from the SEM showed that self-efficacy (β=0.53, SE=0.04, P= 0.007), self-esteem (β=0.39, SE=0.04, P=0.005), social support (β=0.36, SE=0.04, P=0.009), sense of coherence (β=0.34, SE=0.07, P=0.006), resilience (β=0.33, SE=0.07, P=0.018), and perceived benefits (β=0.25, SE=0.05, P=0.009) had a positive and significant relationship with HPB. Conclusion: The self-care empowerment model in patients with MS presented in this study can be used as a framework for designing health promotion interventions to improve the quality of life of patients with MS.