The effect of education on the improvement of fruits and vegetables consumption aiming to preventing colorectal cancer.
OBJECTIVE
This study was performed to determine the effect of health education on the improvement of intake of fruits and vegetables aiming at preventing colorectal cancer among high school girls in the city of Shahr-e-kord.


BACKGROUND
Colorectal cancer is one of the most important and most common cancers and the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Every year, nearly one million new cases of colorectal cancer are recognized around the world and nearly half of them lose their lives due to the disease.


METHODS
130 students were randomly divided to two groups, which experimental (65) and controls (65) were chosen from the city of Shahr-e-kord for this experimental study. The instruments for data collecting were self-made questionnaire health belief model based and food frequency questionnaire. The HBM FFQ questionnaires were completed before, immediately and two months after education by participants. After pre-test, 5 educational session classes in experimental group were performed. Finally, data collected and analyzed by SPSS16 computer software (T- test, T-Paired, repeated measure ANOVA).


RESULTS
Findings of the study showed that before the intervention there was no significant differences between the scores of different structures of HBM model in two groups (P > 0.05), after the intervention there was significant differences between experimental and control groups in the levels of knowledge, structures of HBM model and performance for preventing colorectal cancer (p < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Performing educational programs based on health belief model increases the knowledge and improves the attitudes and practices of students regarding prevention of the colorectal cancer.
The Student's Research Committee Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Elahe
E
Tavassoli
Department of Public Health, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran.
Mahnoush
M
Reisi
Department of Public Health, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran.
Seyed Homamodin
SH
Javadzad
Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran.
Zabiholah
Z
Gharli Pour
Department of Public Health, School of Health, Kashan University of Medical Science, Kashan, Iran.
Hamid Reza
HR
Gilasi
The Student's Research Committee Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Sima
S
Ghasemi
Proteomics Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran ; Medical Education Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Asghar Ashrafi
AA
Hafez
Colorectal cancer; Health belief model; Intake of fruits and vegetables