Effectiveness of Health Belief Model based educational intervention on osteoporosis knowledge test among female academician in Malaysia

Osteoporosis is a comprehensive health problem in world wide. Knowledge assessment on osteoporosis risk factors and preventive measures, physical activity and adequate calcium intake among women is a better operational process to develop and implement health behavioral educational program. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate the effect of an educational intervention based on Health Belief Model to improve knowledge regarding osteoporosis among female academician in Malaysia. A single blinded randomized controlled trial was conducted among 212 female academicians; intervention was conducted for 12 weeks; data was collected at baseline, immediately, one month and three months after intervention. Data was analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20. The mean age of participants was 37.1 years (SD=7.2) and majority of them were Malay (84%), married (88%) with tertiary education (90%). After intervention, from baseline to three months follow up there was a significant increase in the mean score of knowledge (20.7 - 28.3, p<0.001). Controlling for baseline socio-demographic data, the GLM model showed a significant difference between groups (F=1.73, p<0.001) and within groups for knowledge score (F=1.009, p<0.001). These results provided evidence for the effectiveness of an educational intervention in promoting osteoporosis knowledge which suggests that increase knowledge on osteoporosis can improve exercise and calcium intake even after three months of intervention, but policy should implement for long term intervention to sustain this effectiveness.