Journal of School of Public Health and

Background and Aim: Physical activity is a low-cost and uncomplicated way for the prevention of osteoporosis. The aim of the present study was to determine the interactive effects of constructs of perceived benefit, barriers, susceptibility and severity on perceived exercise behavior self-efficacy for prevention of osteoporosis based on the Health Belief Model in female-employees of Kermanshah City.

Materials and Methods: This analytic-descriptive study was conducted on 595 female-employees in the governmental and private organizations in 2014. Inclusion criteria included women between the age of 30 years and start of menopause and having no history of osteoporosis. Data were collected using a two-part questionnaire including questions on demographic variables and questions related to the Health Belief Model and analyzed using the SPSS and Lisrel software.      

Results: Analysis of the data showed that perceived severity and perceived barriers had direct and indirect effects on self-efficacy for exercise behavior. Self-efficacy had the highest correlation with perceived benefits (r=0.319). Further analysis of the data revealed a significant inverse correlation between perceived barriers and perceived severity and a significant positive correlation between perceived benefits and perceived severity.

Conclusion: The results of this study show female-employees do not have a high perceived susceptibility or severity to osteoporosis. A high perception of barriers and a low self-efficacy perception indicate the need for implementing appropriate intervention programs and increasing preventive behaviors.