The effect of nutrition education based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) on food intake in pregnant Afghan immigrant women: a semi-experimental study

• Published in: BMC pregnancy and childbirth 2024-10, Vol.24 (1), p.700-12, Article 700
• Main Authors: Riazi, Somaye, Ghavami, Vahid, Sobhani, Seyyed Reza, Shoorab, Nahid Jahani, Mirzakhani, Kobra
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Afghanistan - ethnology; Behavior; Birth weight; Body mass index; Diabetes; Eating - psychology; Education; Emigrants and Immigrants - psychology; Energy Intake; Female; Fetuses; Food; Food security; HBM; Health Belief Model; Health care; Health education; Health Education - methods; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice - ethnology; Humans; Immigrants; Iran; Malnutrition; Nutrition; Nutrition education; Nutritional status; Pregnancy; Pregnant Women - ethnology; Pregnant Women - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Vitamin D; Vitamin deficiency; Womens health; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1471-2393; 1471-2393
• DOI: 10.1186/s12884-024-06728-0

According to the World Health Organization report, immigrants are at increased risk of malnutrition. Nutritional deficiencies in pregnancy are a public health concern and around 20 to 30 percent of pregnant women suffer from it worldwide. There has not been any investigation about the effect of any intervention on improving nutritional intake in pregnant Afghan immigrant women. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the effect of nutrition education based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) on food intake in pregnant Afghan immigrant women. A semi-experimental study study was conducted on 116 Afghan immigrant pregnant women who have the inclusion criteria, were referred to health center No. 2 in Mashhad, Iran in June 2022 until February 2023, and were randomly assigned to the intervention (56) and control (56) groups. The demographic, HBM questionnaire and the standard 24-h food reminder questionnaire were the research tools. The intervention consisted of four sessions of 45-60 min of nutrition education based on the Health Belief Model in groups of 8-10 people. The questionnaires were completed before, immediately, and one month after the intervention by the research units. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 21 software. The intake of energy, protein, carbohydrates, and micronutrients such as iron, calcium, zinc, and vitamin D increased in the intervention group immediately and one month after the intervention significantly compared to before the intervention (P