The impact of a health education program ofosteoporosis prevention on knowledge , attitudes and practice of first year technical nursing institute{u2019}s students / Eman Moustafa Omar Ahmed ; Supervised Nawal A. Fouad , Soheir Ali Bader Eldin

Thesis (Ph.D.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Nursing - Department of Community Health Nursing

Background: Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by decreased bone density and or loss of bone microstructure, which can lead to increased risk of fracture. Women are eight times more at risk of osteoporosis than men (National Osteoporosis Foundation, 2010). The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a health education program of osteoporosis prevention on knowledge, attitudes and practice of first year technical nursing institute{u2019}s students. A quasi-experimental design (pre/post test and follow-up) was utilized in this study; Two Technical Nursing Institutes in Kasr Al-Eini area Cairo- Egypt were selected for; 50 female first year students were recruited for the current study. Four tools were used to collect pertinent data: (1) Health Profile Structured Questionnaire, (2) Osteoporosis Knowledge Test (OKT), (3) Osteoporosis Health Belief Scale and (4) Reported Practice tool. Results showed that, mean age was 18.86±1.23 and 80% had sufficient income to meet basic family needs. .Regarding health issues of the students, 20% had family history of osteoporosis, 7% were suffering from health problems including arthritis (42.9%). Total knowledge scores of the study sample improved from 23.1% in the pretest to 83.5% after program implementation. Total attitude scores of the study sample improved from 38.3% in the pretest to 70.4% after program implementation and total reported practices scores improved from 20% in pre test to 34.7% and 24.2% in post and follow up tests respectively. The P-values of the differences among pre, post and follow up test rsults of total knowledge scores, total attitude scores and total reported practice scores were .000, .039 and .001, respectively. There is correlation among total reported practice scores, total knowledge scores, and total attitude score;s p value = 0.013 and r = .351. Conclusion: Based on the findings of the present study, the studied sample were not fully aware of the severity and dangerous complications of osteoporosis. Recommendations: Establish osteoporosis clinics in the health centers. Further research should be conducted on large scales and cover other regions of the country

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