Abstract

Background: Poor menstrual health is a risk factor for genital infections and infertility and may affect family health and the com-munity’s future. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the effect of educational intervention based on the PRECEDE model on improving menstrual health behaviors among female students. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 130 first-grade high school female students and their mothers randomly selected from six schools and divided into intervention and control groups. Three two-hour educational sessions were conducted for the students and their mothers in the intervention group based on the pretest results. Data were collected immediately and three months after the educational sessions using a questionnaire with confirmed validity and reliability. Data were analyzed using SPSS v. 21 with repeated-measures ANOVA and t-test. The significance level was considered at 0.05. Results: The educational intervention based on the PRECEDE model increased the mean scores of predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors in the intervention group and finally increased the mean score of health behavior immediately (24.1 ± 4.62, P < 0.001) and three months after the intervention (22.84 ± 4.04, P = 0.02) compared to before intervention (19.68 ± 5.48). Conclusions: The results showed a change in factors affecting behavior (predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors). The PRECEDE model changed the menstrual health behaviors among the students. © 2022, Author(s).