Abstract
INTRODUCTION: It is vital importance to observe standard precautions (SPs) in dentistry to prevent the transfer and spread of blood-borne diseases in the community. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of educational intervention using health belief model (HBM) on the observation of SPs by dental students in 2019. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty-seven dental preclinical students were included in the present quasi-experimental study. The students were randomly assigned to two groups, and data were collected using a questionnaire designed based on HBM. Educational intervention was carried out after the pretest analysis in four 60-min sessions. Data were analyzed with independent t-test and paired t-test using SPSS 16 at a significance level of P < 0.05. RESULTS: After the educational intervention, the mean score of awareness (P = 0.001), perceived susceptibility (P = 0.01), perceived severity (P = 0.02), perceived benefits (P < 0.001), cues to action (P = 0.006), self-efficacy (P = 0.002), and behavior (0.03) in the intervention group was significantly increased. CONCLUSION: Despite the effect of education on increasing the students' scores in HBM constructs and observation of SPs, the most important barriers to the adoption of precautionary behaviors were deficiencies in protective tools and aids.