@2024 Afarand., IRAN

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ISSN: 2383-2150    Journal of Education and Community Health 2014;1(3):20-27

Background
Breakfast is known as one of the most important meals of the day [1] and taking it is considered an important indicator of healthy lifestyle[2].
Previous Studies
… [3-13]. In previous studies several factors has been mentioned as determinants of breakfast; including demographic variables (such as parental education and behavioral factors(such as sleeping hours at night, working hour during the day and physical activity) environmental factors (like the influence of friends and parents) and cognitive factors (such as perceived barriers, self–efficacy and attitudes)[14-24]. In addition, the role of environmental, cognitive and behavioral factors in connection to students’ nutrition has been emphasized [25].
Aim(s)
The study aimed to determine effective factors of breakfast consumption among female students of Hamedan University of Medical Sciences using the theoretical framework of social cognitive theory.
Research type
This study is cross-sectional.
Research society, place and time
In this study, 423 female students of Hamedan University of Medical Sciences were studied in 2014.
Sampling method and number
In this study, the sampling was multi-stage random method. On this basis, after coordination with the different schools and getting information about the number of each school’s female students, the number of each school was determined in proportion to population. Then, based on each school class’s schedule, some of them were randomly selected based on the population of the classes within two weeks. Inclusion criteria included being female students and satisfaction of participating in the study.
Used devices&materials
Data collection was based on a researcher-made questionnaire. The initial version of the questionnaire was designed based on the various studies conducted in this area [23, 22-26]. The questionnaire consisted of six questions used to assess knowledge (maximum score: 12), outcome expectation and outcome expectancy each of them with 5 questions (maximum score: 25), Observational learning with 3 questions (maximum score: 15), social support with 6 questions (maximum score: 30), and self –efficacy with 7 questions (maximum score: 35).The opinions of 5 health education and health promotion specialists were used for measuring content validity and face validity of the questionnaire and their proposed ideas were applied. Moreover, to measure the questionnaire reliability, internal consistency method was used that is the prepared questionnaire was completed by 30 female students as a test in Hamedan university of medical sciences who were not the main participants of this study, and Cornbach’s alpha coefficient was calculated. In this manner; Cronbach’s alpha was achieved0.75 for the knowledge construct, 0.73 for outcome expectation, 0.80 for outcome expectancy, 0.75 for observation learning, 0.85 for self-efficacy and 0.79 for social support. Final questionnaire was completed within two weeks by the selected students. While they were completing the questionnaire, necessary explanation about answering different parts of the questionnaire was presented. Statistical analysis:Data was statically analyzed using SPSS software, version16 by using Chi-square test, correlation analysis and logistic regression .The significant level for all analyses was considered less than 0.05.
Findings by Text
Mean age of subjects (±SD) was 21.7years(±2.88),60% of students were living in dormitories; 88% were single. Last semester GPA of 43% of students was between 16 and 18. The majority of samples were selected among four collages of medicine (22.3%), paramedical(20.8%), Health (20.6%), nursing-midwifery (19.9%), and other samples were selected from the colleges of rehabilitation (7.5%), dental (5.4%) and pharmaceutical (3.5%). Mean number of eating breakfast among students was 4.2 times a week.24% of case studies were regularly eating breakfast every day, 10 % were never eating breakfast and 66% of them were eating breakfast between 1 to 6 times a week. Among individual factors,in this study, only student’s GPA had a significant connection with eating breakfast during the week (p<0.001).that is students with higher grade were eating breakfast more frequently.Mean and standard deviation of structuresis presented in Table1. Linear regression analysis was performed to determine the predictors of eating breakfast among students who were studied(table2). Based on this analysis, among theory constructs only self-efficacy (p<0.001) and social support (p<0.001) could predict the breakfast consumption. These two variables totally predicted 64% of the breakfast consumption changes among students.
Main comparison to the similar studies
It seems that omitting breakfast by university students is more than omitting it by school students. Namakinet al. in their study in Birjand recorded that 5.5% of students had been never eating breakfast [27]. In addition in a study of different students from different grades in Semnan who were participated in the study,the amount of breakfast omission was reported 4.4 % [24].Overall, these results indicate that a considerable part of youth in Iran eliminate eating breakfast completely or partially.… [28, 29].Also,Mullan study based on developed Theory of Planned Behavior model could predict 57.8% of variance in the breakfast consumption [30].… [31-34]. Results showed that in students with higher self-efficacy, breakfast consumption is more. The role of self-efficacy has been proved in various studies on nutritional behaviors [22, 26, 35]. …[36-38].
Suggestions
It seems that using effective strategies to improve students’ self-efficacy and social support, including exposure to best practices, providing positive feedback, verbal persuasion, strengthening existing networks in order to increase emotional and informational support among students, as well as the increase in the rate of access, can increase self-efficacy and students` social support as well as improvement in their regular consumption of the breakfast.
Limitations
Being cross-section is one of the limitations of this study. This type of study would be challenging to infer a causal path of dependent and independent variables. Moreover, using self-reporting in case of breakfast consumption in frequency raises the risk of errors in the estimating of this behavior. Of the other limitations of this study, conducting study among only female students can be noted.Although, based on previous studies deletion of breakfast is more prevalent among girls, this behavior and its determining factors should be studied among male students as well.
Conclusions
In designing nutritional interventions to increase breakfast consumption in female students, self-efficacy and social support should be targeted.
Acknowledgments
Non-declared
Conflict of interest
Non-declared
Ethical Permissions
The original study was coordinated by the university authorities and obtaining consent from samples was acquired.
Funding Sources
This article is based on research plan approved in Student Research Committee and Vice Chancellor for Research and Technology Research Council of Hamedan University of Medical Sciences (registration number:9209193282)

TABLES and CHARTS

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