The Effect of Education Given to International University Students in Line With the Health Belief Model on Health Perception and Risky Behaviors

NCT ID: NCT07057882

Last Updated: 2025-07-20

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 25 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2025-08-01
• Study Completion Date: 2026-11-01

Brief Summary

The World Health Organization defines health as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being. Health is a process in which individuals adapt to environmental changes, and this process is influenced by beliefs, experiences, and health behaviors. Health perception is a combination of an individual's thoughts about their own health and is a significant indicator of both physical and mental well-being. University students enter a new phase of life that can affect their health perceptions, during which they may experience health problems associated with factors such as stress, physical activity, and nutrition. International students, in particular, may encounter additional challenges during the cultural adaptation process and may engage in risky behaviors that affect their health behaviors.The Health Belief Model (HBM) is a framework used to understand and modify individuals' health behaviors. This study examines the effectiveness of an HBM-based educational intervention in evaluating international students' health perceptions and risky behaviors. While the literature supports the effectiveness of HBM-based education in reducing risky behaviors, there is a lack of randomized controlled trials conducted specifically with international students.This study, to be conducted with international students at Sakarya University, aims to improve students' health perceptions and reduce risky behaviors. The research is designed as a randomized controlled trial with pre-test/post-test, single-blind, experimental and control groups. It is expected that the HBM-based educational intervention delivered to the experimental group will enhance international university students' health perceptions and reduce their likelihood of engaging in risky behaviors.Data collection tools include the "Health Perception Scale" and the "Risky Behaviors Scale - University Form". Data obtained in the study will be analyzed using the SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) for Windows 22.0 software.

Conditions

Health Behaviour; Risk Behavior, Health

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Intervention Group

"Participants will receive a Health Belief Model-based training program designed to improve health perception and reduce risky behaviors.".

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Health Belief Model-based Education

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

The intervention is a structured educational program based on the Health Belief Model (HBM), developed to improve health perception and reduce risky behaviors among international university students. The program includes six weekly sessions lasting approximately 45 minutes each, delivered face-to-face in small groups. The training content is tailored to address perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers, and self-efficacy related to health behaviors. Interactive discussions, visual materials, and culturally sensitive examples are used. Participants in the intervention group receive this training in addition to usual care or routine university services..

Control Group

"Participants will not receive any educational intervention during the study period."

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Health Belief Model-based Education

The intervention is a structured educational program based on the Health Belief Model (HBM), developed to improve health perception and reduce risky behaviors among international university students. The program includes six weekly sessions lasting approximately 45 minutes each, delivered face-to-face in small groups. The training content is tailored to address perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers, and self-efficacy related to health behaviors. Interactive discussions, visual materials, and culturally sensitive examples are used. Participants in the intervention group receive this training in addition to usual care or routine university services..

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• To have passed the Turkish language proficiency (speaking Turkish at C1 level)
• Volunteering and giving consent to participate in the research
• Being open to communication and cooperation
• No diagnosed psychiatric illness
• Scoring below the average scale score of the sample group for the "Health Perception Scale" and above the average scale score of the sample group for each sub-dimension of the "Risky Behaviors Scale University Form" scale-

Exclusion Criteria

• To have passed the Turkish language proficiency (speaking Turkish at C1 level)
• Volunteering and giving consent to participate in the research
• Being open to communication and cooperation
• No diagnosed psychiatric illness
• Scoring below the average scale score of the sample group for the "Health Perception Scale" and above the average scale score of the sample group for each sub-dimension of the "Risky Behaviors Scale University Form" scale

• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Sakarya University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Central Contacts

Aylin Meşe Tunç, RESEARCH ASSISTANT

Role: CONTACT

aylinmese@sakarya.edu.tr

+90 541 391 37 44

Other Identifiers

SakaryaU-HBMIntlEdu-RCT2025

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id