Essay on Children's Beliefs and Performances in Road Traffic Injury Prevention: A Health Belief Model Study

Ebrahimikhah, Moghimbeigi, Hazavehei, and Rezapur-Shahkolai's (2019) article was aimed at determining beliefs and performances of fourth and fifth grades children in prevention of road traffic injuries and associated factors using the Health Belief Model. Ebrahimikhah et al. (2019) used a cross-sectional research design with a random sample of learners from an elementary school in Iran. Data collection was conducted using a self-report questionnaire developed based on constructs of the Health Belief Model and students' knowledge and performance regarding the prevention of road traffic injuries. The researchers improved the efficacy of their study by observing participants' road-crossing behaviors using a simulation of a street.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The findings showed that participants had the highest score in the self-efficacy construct of the Health Belief Model, with a score of 91.250 (Ebrahimikhah et al., 2019). This was followed by a score of 89.917 in perceived benefits of the model, then 84.343 in the perceived barriers construct (Ebrahimikhah et al., 2019). Additionally, it was revealed that respondents scored the lowest in perceived benefits with the score being 82.451 while the score on perceived severity and perceived susceptibility constructs were 82.453 and 82.817, respectively (Ebrahimikhah et al., 2019).

Despite having high scores in all constructs of the Health Belief Model, the participants were found to perform poorly in traffic injury prevention as manifested by a mean score of 48.750. Similarly, the children were reported not to be well-versed with road-crossing knowledge and skills. The children did not practice injury prevention strategies such as the use of a helmet while riding motorcycle and bike. Similarly, most of them reported that they did not fasten their belts while in a motor vehicle. The source of the participant's knowledge and behavior related to road traffic instructions were primarily obtained from their parents' training while some said that their source of information was the police.

The theory that was applied to understand the respondents' beliefs and performances regarding prevention of road traffic injuries is the Health Belief Model. The constructs of this model include perceived barriers, perceived benefits, perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, cues to action, and self-efficacy (Abdolaliyan, Shahnazi, Kzemi, & Hasanzadeh, 2017; Karim & Naji, 2018; Puspitawati, Prabandari, Sastrowijoto, Paramastri, & Claramita, 2018). According to this theory, the term perceived susceptibility is described as an individual's subjective perception about the risk of developing a disease, illness, or condition (Caya, Knobloch, Musuuza, Wilhelmson, & Safdar, 2019). People vary in their feelings that they are vulnerable to a specific a disease, illness, or condition.

Perceived severity refers to an individual's feelings on the consequences of acquiring a disease or failing to treat it (Mo, Wong, & Lam, 2019). When evaluating the seriousness of the condition, especially its effects, people assess the social and medical consequences (LaMorte, 2019). Third, perceive benefits refers to the feeling that specific actions are effective in preventing or curing an illness (Khoramabadi et al., 2016). Fourth, perceived barriers are the factors that hinder the performance of specific health action or behavior (Mohammadi et al., 2017). Fifth, cues to action refer to stimuli or a motivation required to start a recommended health behavior (Reblin et al., 2019). Lastly, self-efficacy refers to a person's level of confidence regarding his or her ability to accomplish a particular health action or behavior.

Explanation of whether the Health Belief Model was Effective

To determine whether the Health Belief Model was useful in predicting the participants' self-reported injury prevention behavior, it is crucial to examine whether the various constructs of the theory statistically significantly explained the outcome variable. As reported by the researchers, it can be seen that three constructs of the Health Belief Model (self-efficacy, perceived barriers, and perceived susceptibility) effectively predicted reported injury prevention behavior based on the results of multiple linear regressions (Ebrahimikhah et al., 2019).

In the multiple regression analysis, 17.6% of the variation in self-reported prevention of traffic injury was explained by self-efficacy, perceived barriers, perceived susceptibility, knowledge, and respondents' sex (Ebrahimikhah et al., 2019). One of the constructs of the model (perceived susceptibility) along with self-reported behavior and knowledge were also reported to explain 9.2% of the total variation in the observed road-crossing behavior (Ebrahimikhah et al., 2019).

Ways in Which the Findings Contribute to Increased Awareness of Child Injury

One of the findings of the study is that the children have an unacceptable level of knowledge of road-crossing behavior. Consequently, there is an increased likelihood that the students are more likely to be involved in road traffic injury. These findings suggest that children need to be taught road and traffic safety behaviors such as how to cross roads, use helmets, and use seat belts. All education stakeholders must be at the forefront of equipping learners with skills and knowledge related to road use. Consequently, increase awareness of the issue can be accomplished by incorporating strategies of preventing road traffic injuries in the school curriculum. At home, parents should also teach their children to road safety and traffic rules.

References

Abdolaliyan, N., Shahnazi, H., Kzemi, A., & Hasanzadeh, A. (2017). Determinants of the self-efficacy of physical activity for maintaining weight during pregnancy: The application of the health belief model. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 6(93), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_175_16

Caya, T., Knobloch, M. J., Musuuza, J., Wilhelmson, E., & Safdar, N. (2019). Patient perceptions of chlorhexidine bathing: A pilot study using the health belief model. American Journal of Infection Control, 47(1), 18-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2018.07.010

Ebrahimikhah, M., Moghimbeigi, A., Hazavehei, S. M. M., & Rezapur-Shahkolai, F. (2019). Beliefs and performances of elementary school students to prevent road traffic injuries, using Health Belief Model: A study from Hamadan, Iran. Journal of Injury and Violence Research, 11(2), 213-224. https://doi.org/10.5249/jivr.v11i2.974

Karim, N. H., & Naji, A. B. (2018). Health belief model and its relation to age and body mass index considering colorectal examinations among graduate students. Nursing National Iraqi Specility, 31(2), 129-138.

Khoramabadi, M., Dolatian, M., Hajian, S., Zamanian, M., Taheripanah, R., Sheikhan, Z., Mahmoodi, Z., & Seyedi-Moghadam, A. (2016). Effects of education based on health belief model on dietary behaviors of iranian pregnant women. Global Journal of Health Science, 8(2), 230-239. https://doi.org/10.5539/gjhs.v8n2p230

LaMorte, W. W. (2019). The health belief model. Retrieved from http://sphweb.bumc.bu.edu/otlt/MPH-Modules/SB/BehavioralChangeTheories/BehavioralChangeTheories2.html

Mo, P. K. H., Wong, C. H. W., & Lam, E. H. K. (2019). Can the Health Belief Model and moral responsibility explain influenza vaccination uptake among nurses? Journal of Advanced Nursing, 75(6), 1188-1206. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.13894

Mohammadi, S., Ghajari, H., Valizade, R., Ghaderi, N., Yousefi, F., Taymoori, P., & Nouri, B. (2017). Predictors of smoking among the secondary high school boy students based on the health belief model. International Journal of Preventive Medicine, 8(24), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijpvm.IJPVM_264_16

Puspitawati, T., Prabandari, Y. S., Sastrowijoto, S., Paramastri, I., & Claramita, M. (2018). The correlations among constructs in the health belief model and self-efficacy in applying the newly developed Indonesian model of assertive communication (Cerdas). Public Health of Indonesia, 4(1), 31-36. https://doi.org/10.36685/phi.v4i1.151

Reblin, M., Kasting, M. L., Nam, K., Scherr, C. L., Kim, J., Thapa, R., Meade, C. D., Lee, M. C., Pal, T., Quinn, G. P., & Vadaparampil, S. T. (2019). Health beliefs associated with readiness for genetic counseling among high risk breast cancer survivors. The Breast Journal, 25(1), 117-123. https://doi.org/10.1111/tbj.13165