An interventional study of Intervention Group in Oral Health Behavior Change, sponsored by University of Baghdad. Recruiting at 1 site in Iraq. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 25 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-07-21.
Sponsored by University of Baghdad · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention
This study aims to evaluation of collegians adherence to oral health behavers and to examine the efficacy of the Expanded Health Belief Model-based intervention in enhancing oral health behaviors among collegians.
The intersection of oral health and health beliefs represents a critical area in understanding why people adopt or neglect dental care behaviors. The Health Belief Model (HBM) has emerged as a foundational framework for explaining and promoting oral health behaviors, with significant research demonstrating its effectiveness in dental health education.
The Health Belief Model (HBM) effectively predicts and promotes oral health behaviors by targeting individuals' perceptions of disease risks and preventive actions. Research consistently links HBM constructs to improved brushing, flossing, and dental visits, aligning with your prior work on perceived severity, behavioral intention, and oral health.
Education using HBM significantly boosts all perceptions and behaviors: in one quasi-experimental study on 12-year-old girls, post-intervention daily flossing rose from 11% to 87%, correct brushing from 8% to 77%, and Oral Hygiene Index improved (mean 0.72 vs. 1.33 in controls). Another cross-sectional analysis of 748 university students found perceived benefits (e.g., fear of disease risk without check-ups) and floss/interdental brush use strongly predicted willingness for regular dental check-ups (OR 1.683 and 1.616).
Research has demonstrated that the HBM is highly applicable to understanding and promoting oral health behaviors. Studies show that educational interventions based on the HBM can significantly improve:
Recent research demonstrates that HBM-based interventions are especially effective for middle-aged and elderly individuals with type 2 diabetes, improving oral health knowledge, beliefs, and hygiene behaviors-particularly tooth brushing and flossing.
For University Students, Studies show that university students often have lower rates of regular dental check-ups (12.3-30.2%) than the general population, making them an important target for HBM-based interventions focused on building long-term preventive habits.
967 studies on the registry are indexed under Health Behavior; 165 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 166 is above the median of 150 across 824 interventional studies indexed under Health Behavior.
Browse Health Behavior studies →University of Baghdad is the lead sponsor of 170 studies on the registry; 69 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Inclusion Criteria: The study included
Exclusion Criteria: Students were excluded if they were
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Awareness lectures will be presented to the intervention group about the oral health, based on the expanded health belief model.
Behavioral: Intervention Group
Participants in this arm will receive routine college based health education only. This includes general information about healthy lifestyle. No structured behavioral change program or stage-based intervention will be provided.
The participants will be a male and female students enrolled in the Southern Technical University. the recommended sample size would be (72 for each group). As for sampling technique, simple random sampling will be used to select eligible participants, who will then be randomly assigned to either the intervention or control group. Then, awareness lectures will be presented to the intervention group about the oral health, based on the expanded health belief model.
Also known as: Expanded Health Belief Model (EHBM) Based Behavioral Intervention for Oral Health
Oral Health Behavior Score
The primary outcome measure is the Collegians' Adherence to Oral Health Behaviors and determining whether there is a change resulting from receiving the Expanded Health Belief Model-based intervention. Oral health behavior will be assessed using a structured, validated five Likert scale questionnaire (The Expanded Health Belief Model Scales for Oral Health-Preventive Behaviors) which consists of Perceived Benefits, Perceived Barriers, Self-Efficacy, Subjective Norms, Health Motivation, Cues-To-Action, and Behavioral Intention. The Adherence to Oral Health Behaviors Score (which is a better outcome if it be higher) will be compared between the intervention and control groups to determine the effectiveness of the intervention program in improving adherence of college students to oral health behavior.
Time frame: 6 months
Plan to share: No
Eligibility is decided by the study team. Share this record with your doctor or contact the team directly.
Contact study teamGet an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.