Measurement of Health Belief Model Constructs in Relation with the Oral Health Practice of Female Students in Tehran

Aim: Oral hygiene must start at a young age. Childhood is the perfect time to start the conversion of knowledge into creative thinking and subsequent health care activity. This study aimed to measure the constructs of the Health Belief Model (HBM) in relation to the oral health practice of female students in Tehran. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 416 grade five female students of elementary schools in the school year of 2016-2017 in Tehran, Iran. Data were collected using an author-designed questionnaire based on the constructs of the HBM. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed using face validity while its reliability was approved using Cronbach’s alpha statistics. Data were analyzed using Pearson's correlation and regression analysis at 0.05 level of significance. Findings: According to the findings, the mean age of the participants was 10.88±0.628 years. Pearson's correlation showed that four the HBM constructs of Self-efficacy, Cues to action, Perceived benefits, Perceived barriers were significant predictors for oral health practices (P < 0.05). In addition, the variables of knowledge and socio– economic conditions (mother's educational level, father's educational level, mother's job, father's job and family income) had significant relationship with performance (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Our study shows that for improving the beliefs related with oral health behaviors, designing educational programs with emphasis on increasing self-efficacy and perceived benefits, and overcoming the barriers to promote oral health behaviors is essential.