A Pilot Study of Osteoporosis Knowledge, Beliefs, and Self-efficacy of Asian-Indians in Northern Mississippi.

Introduction: Asian-Indians haveahigh incidence rate ot osteoporosis. Assessing knowledge and beliefs is the first step towards improving health behaviors to decrease the prevalence of osteoporosis. It is in this context that the purpose ot this study is to assess Mississippian Asian- Indians' osteoporosis-related knowledge, beliefs, and self-efficacy. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was utilized. Convenience sampling and snowball sampling were used to recruit participants in North Mississippi. Participants were asked to complete a self- administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were performed to assess levels of knowledge, beliefs, and self-efficacy. Pearson correlation analysis and independent sample t-tests were conducted to assess the potential relationships between study variables. Results: This study had a total of 10S participants. The average age ot participants was 28 years. About two-thirds (65.7%) ofthe participants were males. Participants demonstrated low-levels of osteoporosis knowledge, perceived severity, and perceived susceptibility. On the other hand, participants had high levels ot perceived self-efficacy and moderate levels of health motivation. Moreover, results indicated that females perceived they had a greater risk ot osteoporosis. Conclusion: There is a need for health education programs directed towards addressing osteoporosis-related knowledge. In addition, there is a need to change beliefs and perceptions about osteoporosis among Asian-Indians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]