title: Health behaviors of victims and related factors in Wenchuan earthquake resettlement sites.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to describe the health behaviors of earthquake victims related to gastrointestinal and respiratory infectious diseases in the centralized transitional earthquake resettlement sites in Wenchuan, China; and to identify key factors related to health behaviors that may inform local infectious diseases prevention and control strategies.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected using a questionnaire that included questions about socio-demographic characteristics and health beliefs and behaviors. In total, 1411 participants were included through a two-stage random sampling strategy. A bivariate multilevel model was used to explore the related factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Approximately 67% of the participants wash their hands after going to lavatories every time, and 87% felt uncomfortable spitting on the ground. The more the participants perceived their susceptibility to and the severity of infectious diseases, the better their health-related behaviors (P < 0.05). Both health-related behaviors were influenced by communication modes of health education (P = 0.01) and socio-demographic characteristics. There was heterogeneity of health-related behaviors among different resettlement sites (P < 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Health education intervention, based on the Health Belief Model, is one of the main preventative strategies that should be implemented to inspire self-efficacy and to enhance better health-related behaviors among earthquake victims. Appropriate health education communication modes should be considered among different resettlement sites.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Qiaolan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Hongyu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Huan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Xiaoyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Lingyun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Peiyuan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002681:China; D055866:Earthquakes; D005260:Female; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D006235:Hand Disinfection; D015438:Health Behavior; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D020377:Self Efficacy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult