Application of the health belief model on the intention to stop smoking behavior among young adult women

Abstract

Background: The smoking behavior among young adult women causes health issues and has effects on ethical norms, especially femininity and gender. A woman smoker usually has an intention to quit and several factors have been perceived to be related to this action according to the Health Belief Model (HBM). Design and Methods: This study was conducted cross-sectionally to analyze the correlation between young adult women’s intention to stop smoking with perceived factors in the construction of HBM. A sample of 58 young adult women smokers and aged between 15-30 years were selected through the use of a purposive sampling technique in 2018. Results: The results showed the intention to stop smoking has a significant correlation with perceived susceptibility (P=0.036), perceived severity (P=0.028), perceived benefits (P=0.011), perceived barriers (P=0.003), and perceived self-efficacy (P=0.005). This means there was a significant correlation between the intention of young adult smokers to quit smoking and the perceived factors of HBM. Conclusions: The intention of stop smoking behavior among women smokers has a significant correlation with the perceived factors of the Health Belief Model construct, which includes perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and perceived self-efficacy.