Effectiveness of the application of an educational program based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) in Adopting.
Ehsan Movahed, Monireh Rezaee Moradali, Mohammad Saeed Jadgal and 2 others
PMID 36867784WHAT IT FOUND
Women who took part in four 45-minute health education sessions reported less self-medication after three months.
Pain relievers, cold tablets and antibiotics were the most common drugs whose use fell in the intervention group.
Key findings
01In the intervention group, reported self-medication changed from 61% to 27% for pain relievers, 53% to 27% for cold tablets and 49% to 22% for antibiotics.
02The intervention group's mean knowledge score changed from 15.82 to 20.94 on a scale from zero to 24.
03The control group also changed on the action-on-self-medication score, from 15.76 to 14.34, while the post-intervention between-group comparison was reported as significant.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The main outcomes were self-reported questionnaires, and the paper notes this as a limitation. The study was done in one city and 10 health centres, so it may not apply to other settings. The design is described as semi-experimental, and the paper does not report individual randomisation or blinding. The paper does not state who delivered the education, so the results cannot be attributed specifically to nurses. The intervention combined lectures, questions, discussion, posters, pamphlets, booklets, a whiteboard, manuals and phone follow-up, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated. The control group also reported a change in the action-on-self-medication score, so some change may reflect time, follow-up contact or reporting rather than the programme alone. The paper does not name a primary outcome, and several scores are reported. Follow-up was only three months, so long-term effect is unknown.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that nurse counselling or any single part of the programme prevents unsafe self-medication. The outcomes were self-reported, the control group also reported lower action scores after three months, and the intervention combined multiple teaching methods, materials and follow-up contact.