International Journal of Public Health Science (IJPHS) Vol. 11, No. 4, December 2022, pp. 1267~1272 ISSN: 2252-8806, DOI: 10.11591/ijphs.v11i4.21908  1267 Journal homepage: http://ijphs.iaescore.com Applying the health belief model in identifying individual understanding towards prevention of type 2 diabetes Fateme Afrasiabi 1 , Fateme Behesht Aeen 1 , Marzieh Kargar Jahromi 1,2 1 Student research committee, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran 2 Community Health Nursing, Faculty Member, Gerash University of Medical Sciences, Gerash, Iran Article Info ABSTRACT Article history: Received Mar 22, 2022 Revised Aug 12, 2022 Accepted Sep 4, 2022 Diabetes is a prevalent metabolic disorder, which leads to numerous complications. This disease can be prevented by training people and increasing their awareness via the health belief model. This descriptive study aimed to determine the diabetes prevention behaviors based on the health belief model among high-risk individuals. There were 220 randomly selected individuals at risk of type 2 diabetes completed a 65-item questionnaire based on the constructs of the health belief model. Data were analyzed by statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS). The mean score of knowledge among respondents was 5.54+2.60, which indicated that 50.36% of the participants had gained the maximum score of knowledge. The results indicated that the constructs of the health belief model determined 19% of the variance in type 2 diabetes prevention behaviors. Perceived barriers, perceived self-efficacy, and knowledge were the significant positive predictors of diabetes prevention behaviors. In addition, a significant relationship was observed between age, economic status, and education level and some constructs of the health belief model. The results indicated that the high-risk patients obtained moderate mean scores in type 2 diabetes prevention behaviors. These results could improve educational programs with regard to beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors to promote type 2 diabetes prevention and self-care behaviors among at-risk populations. Keywords: Diabetes prevention Health belief model High risk individuals Prevention behaviors This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA license. Corresponding Author: Fateme Behesht Aeen Student Research Committee, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences Fars Province, Shiraz, Zand, Iran Email: fbeheshtaeen@yahoo.com 1. INTRODUCTION Diabetes is one of the most important metabolic disorders [1] with increasing prevalence around the world [2]. According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), 537 million adults were living with diabetes in 2021. This number is expected to increase to 643 million by 2030 and 783 million by 2,045. Over 3 in 4 adults with diabetes live in low- and middle-income countries [3]. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is now one of the major health problems [4], which has resulted in a decrease in the efficiency and quality of human resources [5], [6]. This disease has imposed direct and indirect expenditures on health systems [7], [8]. At least 5–10% of high-risk individuals develop diabetes every year. Hence, assisting them through lifestyle modification is increasingly an important public health issue [9]. Generally, low knowledge level and low priority for starting an appropriate prevention program have been regarded as the main problems against diabetes management [6], [10]. By increasing knowledge and perception of its trend, predisposing factors, and complications, it can be prevented among high-risk individuals [11]. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is essential for reducing the risk factors of diabetes