Effect of educational intervention based on health belief model on accident prevention behaviours in mothers of children under 5-years.

BACKGROUND: As the public health problems, accidents are the most important causes of child mortality. The present study aimed to determine the effect of educational intervention based on health belief model on accident prevention behaviors in mothers of children under 5-years of age. METHODS: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 200 mothers in Fasa city who were purposefully selected and randomly divided into two groups of intervention and control. Data collection tools were demographic characteristics and health belief model questionnaire. Questionnaires were completed twice before and 3 months after the intervention. After the pre-test, the educational intervention was performed through 6 sessions of 30-35 min in a WhatsApp group. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22 through Chi-square test, independent t-test and paired t-test (p = 0.05). RESULTS: The mean age of mothers in the experimental and control groups was 30.14 ± 4.35 and 31.08 ± 4.31 years. Mean score of awareness, perceived sensitivity, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived self-efficacy, cues to action, and accident prevention behaviors significantly increased 3 months after the intervention. CONCLUSION: This study showed the effectiveness of educational intervention based on health belief model on accident prevention behaviors in mothers of children under 5-years of age.

The Impact of an Interactive Computer Game on the Quality of Life of Children Undergoing Chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Quality of life (QOL) of children with cancer reduces right from the diagnosis of disease and the start of treatment. Computer games in medicine are utilized to interact with patients and to improve their health-related behaviors. This study aimed to investigate the effect of an interactive computer game on the QOL of children undergoing chemotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this clinical trial, 64 children with cancer aged between 8 and12 years were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to experimental or control group. The experimental group played a computer game for 3 hours a week for 4 consecutive weeks and the control group only received routine care. The data collection tool was the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) 3.0 Cancer Module Child self-report designed for children aged between 8 to 12 years. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics in SPSS software. RESULTS: Before intervention, there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of mean total QOL score (p = 0.87). However, immediately after the intervention (p = 0.02) and 1 month after the intervention (p < 0.001), the overall mean QOL score was significantly higher in the intervention group than the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the findings, computer games seem to be effective as a tool in influencing health-related behavior and improving the QOL of children undergoing chemotherapy. Therefore, according to the findings of this study, computer games can be used to improve the QOL of children undergoing chemotherapy.