Application of the Health Belief Model to Change Women's Self-Medication Behavior regarding Prescription-Only Medicines in Yasuj City, Iran

Self-medication is one of the challenging health issues among women throughout the world and Iran. Considering the main role of mothers in promoting health within the families, women play a key role in this regard. This study aimed at determining the effect of an educational intervention based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) to change the women's self-medication behavior about consuming Prescription-Only Medicines (POM) in Yasuj City, Iran.

This quasi-experimental study was conducted with a pre-test/post-test design over 192 women under the coverage of urban healthcare centers. These participants were selected by random sampling method and divided into the intervention and control groups. After measuring the constructs of HBM, a tailored intervention was designed and implemented in four weeks. The intervention program consisted of instructional sessions, pamphlet delivery, and short messages (SMS). After three months, educational contends were reevaluated and the results were compared with the pre-intervention data for both groups.  

No significant difference was observed between the interventional and control groups before and after the intervention (p> 0.05). Comparison of the data collected from the questionnaires administered before and three months after the intervention showed a significant difference between the two groups regarding the perceived susceptibility construct (P = 0.001).

Based on the results, the HBM was effective in changing women's self-medication behavior considering the prescription-only medicines. Self-medication can be reduced by increasing the women's perceived susceptibility to medication.