The Effect of an Educational Program Based on the Health Belief Model on Self-Efficacy among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Referred to the Iranian Diabetes Association in 2014

Background: Patient self-efficacy is one of the most important factors in treating and overcoming disease. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of an educational program based on the health belief model on self-efficacy among patients with type 2 diabetes referred to the Iranian Diabetes Association in 2014. Method: A randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted. Eighty patients with type 2 diabetes were selected randomly by the double block sample method. They were then divided into two groups of intervention and control (40 patients in each group) by random allocation. Data were collected by a questionnaire based on the Health Belief Model and self-efficacy. The data were gathered two months after the educational program was held. The educational program was designed on the basis of data collected in the pre-test phase. Then, the educational program was executed for the intervention group in 8 sessions (each 30 minutes) using lectures and an educational booklet. Data analysis was done with Chi-square Test, Pearson’s correlation, Independent samples T-test and paired T-test. The significance level was considered at 0.05. Results: Before intervention, no significant difference was detected between the two groups. However, after intervention all variables were significantly different except for perceived threat. Moreover, there were significant linear relationships between Self-efficacy and all Health Belief Model components after the educational intervention in both groups (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The educational program based on the health belief model increased self-efficacy in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.