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.

Background: Cervical cancer is one of the major health problems and the third prevalent cancer in women all around the world. As a simple, inexpensive, and with no side-effects, Pap test is a reliable way to screen cervical cancer. This study aimed to investigate, the effects of educational intervention based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) on doing Pap smear tests among the rural women of the north of Iran. Methods: In a quasi-experimental study, 160 rural women were randomly divided into control and experimental groups to experience a three-session intervention. The experimental group received the usual educational programs of rural health center and educational programs based on the HBM constructs through personal consultation, asking/ answering questions, and an educational pamphlet. The control group, received the usual educational programs of rural health center. The post-test data were collected 2 months after the intervention and analyzed in SPSS-18. Results: Before the intervention, there was no significant difference between the control and experimental groups regarding the mean score of knowledge, performance and constructs of the HBM. After the intervention, however, there was a significant difference in the mean scores of knowledge performance and all constructs of the HBM in two groups (p < 0.001). Rate of doing the Pap smear test in the experimental group increased from 18.7 to 78.7% in the intervention group. Conclusion: These findings support the effectiveness of cervical cancer prevention programs based on the HBM. Therefore, conducting similar programs in other regions is recommended.

BACKGROUND Nowadays, cosmetic surgery is one of the most common types of surgeries all around the world including Iran and those demanding such surgeries are also growing in number. The present study is an attempt to determine the factors in the tendency towards cosmetic surgery in Iranian students. METHODS In a descriptive-analytical study, all students at Guilan University of Medical Sciences related to health issues were enrolled. The participants (n=314) were selected through census sampling. Data was garnered using a multi-section questionnaire including socio-demographic variables, body image, body satisfaction, and cosmetic surgery intention. The questionnaires were completed as self-statement. RESULTS The age range of the students was 18-55 years and the mean age was 25.07±7.41 years. Body mass index (BMI) of the participants was 23±3.82. Among socio-demographic variables, BMI, gender, family revenue, father's job, marital status, mother's job, and fathers' literacy level were the predictors of intention for cosmetic surgery. In addition, among psychological variables, body satisfaction and image, and attitudes were predictors of intention for cosmetic surgery. CONCLUSION Educational and psychological interventions are recommended to create body satisfaction, to develop positive attitudes toward one's body, and to develop negative attitudes toward cosmetic surgery and the side effects. Apparently, providing an environment for physical activity and exercise, especially for girls would help the students in losing weight, remaining in shape and attenuating the tendency toward cosmetic surgery.

Background Tooth decay is one of the diseases that is closely related to people’s behaviors and it can have adverse effects on their performance and their success in the future. Brushing twice a day is the simplest and most effective way to reduce tooth decay. The study aim was to determining the roles of correlational factors based on the Pender’s health promotion model in brushing behavior of ninth grade students at urban public schools of Guilan province during the academic year 2019. Methods The present study was cross-sectional and had a descriptive-analytical type. We performed the multi-stage random sampling on 761 ninth-grade students (374 girls and 387 boys) at urban public schools of six counties (ten cities) of Guilan province in 2019. The primary tool was a questionnaire on oral health behaviors focusing on brushing behavior. In the present study, which was conducted only on brushing behavior, we revised and changed the initial questionnaire during the sessions of the research team, and then confirmed its validity and reliability. The questionnaire consisted of three parts, demographic characteristics, constructs of health promotion model, and brushing behavior. We analyzed data in SPSS 21 using regression models. Results 20.1% of students brushed their teeth at least twice a day. Optimal behavior had a statistically significant relationship with parents’ education level, and gender. Based on the regression model, the health promotion model constructs described 58% of the variance of the commitment to plan of action. Perceived self-efficacy, situational influences, and perceived barriers of action had significantly stronger relationships with commitment to plan of action respectively. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that one-unit increase in scores of commitment to plan of action and self-efficacy increased the chance of desired behavior by 12 and 14% respectively. Conclusion Due to the low rate of brushing behavior in the students and the predictive power of the health promotion model in brushing behavior, we suggest planning and implementation of educational interventions for this group with an emphasis on influencing the commitment to plan of action, self-efficacy, and also the level of knowledge.

Background: Smokeless tobacco use is a public health problem in some parts of the world. The major objective of this study was to investigate the reasons and factors of consumption. Methods: A content analysis was conducted on articles for the past thirty years (1989-2019). We reviewed and selected 400 abstracts of original articles from PubMed databases by the search strategy, and reviewed one by one. Among these, 45 abstracts were selected, in which the patterns of use, the reasons for using, and the determinants and predictors were described. Eleven papers were selected based on the results and related to the research objectives. The results of these articles were evaluated precisely word by word and phrase by phrase with content analysis method and inductive approach. Results: The reasons for the use of smokeless tobacco fell in two main themes: socio-cultural structure; and, beliefs, each contained Sub-themes such as "culture and living conditions", "laws", "family and peer relationships", "beliefs related to psychological" and "beliefs related to physical influences", "beliefs", "The role of harm perceptions ". Conclusion: There was a difference between beliefs, cultures and social conditions among the people about using of smokeless tobacco and the association of these factors is investigated in future studies. We also suggest for the prevention and control of smokeless tobacco use, cultural norms and beliefs will need to address adequately.