Improving the Effectiveness of Noncommunicable Disease Prevention Training Based on Health and Education Experts' Opinions

Background: The first need of any society is to have a healthy life that can be achieved through preventive education. Despite providing training in the prevention of risk factors for noncommunicable diseases in the country's educational programs, we are witnessing an increase in the incidence of these diseases. We aimed to summarize the views of experts in the field of health and education on improving the effectiveness of these trainings.

Methods: This study was conducted with a qualitative approach and conventional content analysis method. Participants were 12 experts in the field of health and 19 employees in education who were selected by purposive and available sampling method with maximum diversity. The data collection method was semistructured interview with note-taking.

Results: A total of 32 subcategories and 9 main categories were extracted: "Macro health policies," "Strategic health system," "The role of education system in health promotion," "Schools and Lifestyle modification," "Informal learning," "Preventive strategies in promoting health," " Lifestyle, multifactorial phenomena," "The impact of stress on health," and "Factors affecting preventive education."

Conclusions: Providing preventive education to students is one of the ways to prevent noncommunicable diseases. If these trainings have the necessary attractiveness and support by the authorities (and especially the health system), then it will not only raise students' awareness, but also change their attitude and improve their performance.