The effects of health belief model education on knowledge, attitude and behavior of Tehran pharmaceutical industry employees regarding breast cancer and mammography

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide. Because of unknown etiology of cancer there is no specific existing method to prevent this diseases. Annual mammography is considered the most valuable tool for detecting breast cancer in the earliest possible stages. This study was conducted to determine the effects of an education program on promoting mammography behaviors among employees using the health belief model.

Methods: An experimental study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a 12 week education program based on health belief model to promote early detection of breast cancer using mammography. The sample size was 220 women aged 35 and over who were working in pharmaceutical industries. Participants were divided into two groups (110 in case group and 110 in control group). Base line and three months after education data was collected using a questionnaire and analyzed using an appropriate soft ware. 

Results: The study showed that the mean scores of knowledge, health belief variables (perceived susceptibility, perceived benefits, and perceived severity) and mammography behavior in case group were significantly increased. There was no significant difference observed in control group. The result also confirmed that the mean scores of perceived barriers were significantly decreased in case group but not in the control group.

Conclusion: We can conclude that health belief model educations have an acceptable influence on promoting women to use mammography as a screening tool to early detection of breast cancer.