Poisoning is a major public health problem and children younger than five years of age are more likely to be exposed to injury events such as poisoning. The aim of this study is to investigate the factors associated with the mothers' beliefs and behaviors in relation to poisoning prevention among children under five years of age, considering the Health Belief Model (HBM). This cross-sectional study was conducted among 580 mothers with at least one child under the age of five that had been referred to a health center in Hamadan County, Iran, in 2017. The participants were selected randomly, using cluster sampling method. Data were collected through interviews, by trained interviewers, and using a questionnaire developed by the authors. This study showed the statistically significant relationship between mothers' behavior concerning the prevention of poisoning in children under the age of five years and the variables of the gender of children (P=0.014); mother's education level (P < 0.001) and occupation (P=0.001); and father's education level (P < 0.001) and occupation (P < 0.001). Moreover, mothers' related knowledge and, according to HBM constructs, mothers' perceived susceptibility (p < 0.001) and perceived severity (p= 0.004) regarding poisoning among their children, cues to action (p=0.041) and their self-efficacy (p=0.012) were more powerful predictors for prevention of poisoning among children under the age of five. This study indicates that the HBM, highlighting the four constructs can be helpful to design educational interventions for improving the behaviors of mothers regarding poisoning prevention among children under the age of five years.

Keywords: Iran, health education, health promotion, injury prevention, unintentional injury