Efficacy of Health Belief Model in Enhancing Early Detection Behaviors to Prevent Diabetes Mellitus among Mosul University Employees: A Randomized Controlled Trail

Engagement in diabetes early detection investigations plays a significant role in protecting people from this devastating disease. This study aims to determine the efficacy of the health belief model-based health education in improving diabetes early detection behaviors among Mosul University employees. The study is carried out by employing a randomized controlled trial approach and through the recruitment (of 81) individuals from Mosul University employees by adopting a multistage sampling method. The selected subjects were randomly divided into two groups: the experimental group (41) subjects and the control group (40) subjects. A constructed questionnaire is used thrice to gather participants' data (T0, T1, and T2). A Mixed-design split plot ANOVA was calculated to determine the significance of differences in the participants' belief scores among groups over time. The study revealed that the sample's age (M±SD) is (45.26 ± 8.59). In addition, the results show that most of the participants are male (59.3%) and hold bachelor's degree certificates (40.7%). On the other hand, the study indicated that the four health belief model concepts of seriousness, susceptibility, benefits, and barriers were significantly changed among experimental group participants after education p ˂ 0.001. As the first study conducted in Iraq, this experiment possesses significant importance. It has been considered a preliminary step to conduct other studies regarding the role of health beliefs in shaping diabetes-protective behaviors among the Iraqi population. The study tested the ability of the health belief model-based- health education to enhance participants' beliefs regarding diabetes early detection investigations.