Association of Health Belief Model Constructs with Stages of Exercise Behavior Change in Prevention of Osteoporosis among Iranian Female Employees

Aims: Female employees are more prone to develop osteoporosis. Exercise is the main factor preventing osteoporosis and an efficient method to increase bone density. This study was aimed to evaluate the relationship between health belief model constructs and stages of exercise behavior change in the prevention of osteoporosis among Iranian female employees. Instruments & Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in Iran, in 2016. A total of 585 female employees were selected through multi-stage sampling. A three-part questionnaire, including demographic information, health belief model constructs and stages of exercise behavior change was completed by the participants through self-report. The obtained data were analyzed by SPSS 22 software. Findings: The findings showed that 64.1% of female employees had no exercise activity. Perceived benefits and perceived self-efficacy were directly correlated with cues to action external and cues to action internal, respectively (p<0.01). The means of perceived benefits, perceived self-efficacy and cues to action external showed statistically significant differences during the stages of exercise behavior change (p<0.05). In logistic regression, the remains of the influencing factors of exercise behavior were perceived self-efficacy and cues to action external. Conclusion: Exercise activity among the female employees was low. Interventional studies seem necessary to be conducted to promote exercise behavior in female employees.