Health belief model associated with food consumption behavior to prevent anemia among female students, Sirindhorn College of Public Health Chonburi

Abstract

This cross-sectional descriptive study aimed to investigate health belief patterns, dietary behaviors, and the association between health beliefs and dietary behaviors related to anemia prevention among female students at Sirindhorn College of Public Health, Chonburi, during February 2025. A total of 223 participants were recruited. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using inferential statistics, specifically Spearman’s rank-order correlation.

Results indicated that most participants were older than 20 years (56.50%), first-year students (42.60%), had sufficient monthly income (70.00%), reported no underlying diseases (94.6%), and had regular menstruation (79.82%). Overall, health belief scores were at a moderate level (Mean = 3.46, SD = 0.30), while dietary behaviors for anemia prevention were performed occasionally (Mean = 2.58, SD = 0.22). No significant association was found between health beliefs and dietary behaviors for anemia prevention (r = –0.01, p > 0.05). The findings provide baseline evidence for developing interventions to promote appropriate dietary practices and for implementing continuous health education activities to enhance understanding, encourage healthier eating behaviors, and reduce the risk of anemia.