The Effects of Family-Centered Education Based on the Health Belief Model on Knowledge and Attitude Among the Parents of Children with Asthma: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Background: Asthma is the most common chronic condition among children. It requires parents to engage in child care. Thus, the quality of asthma control depends on parents’ knowledge and attitude towards asthma and its treatments. Objectives: This study sought to evaluate the effects of family-centered education based on the Health Belief Model on knowledge and attitude among the parents of children with asthma. Methods: This randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on 64 parents of children with asthma who were purposefully recruited from a pulmonary clinic in Ahvaz, Iran. Participants were randomly allocated to either a control or an intervention group. Participants in the intervention group were offered a family-centered educational program based on the Health Belief Model, while participants in the control group received the same educational materials without the use of the Health Belief Model. Participants’ knowledge and attitude were measured before and three months after the intervention using a forty-item researcher-made questionnaire. The SPSS program (version 18.0) was employed for data analysis. Results: There were no significant differences between the groups regarding participants’ demographic characteristics and the pretest mean scores of knowledge, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and self-efficacy (P > 0.05). However, all posttest values of these mean scores in the intervention group were significantly different from the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Family-centered education based on the Health Belief Model is effective in significantly improving knowledge and attitude about asthma and its treatments among the parents of children with asthma.