@2024 Afarand., IRAN

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ISSN: 2383-2150    Journal of Education and Community Health 2020;7(2):127-134

Background
Injuries are one of the major health problems among children worldwide.
Previous Studies
… [1-13]. Although the success rate of health education and health-promotion programs varies, those based on appropriate theories and patterns are more likely to be successful [14]. Theories and models that deal with the explanation and analysis of adjustable factors related to a problem are more important [15]. … [16, 17]. The health belief model (HBM) is one of the models to explain and predict health behaviors.
Aim(s)
The aim of this study was to determine the factors associated with mothers' behaviors, in injury prevention among premature neonatal using the HBM.
Research type
The present research was an analytical cross-sectional study.
Research society, place and time
The present study was performed on 358 mothers with preterm infants admitted to Intensive Care Units of a referral hospital of Hamadan city in 2019.
Sampling method and number
The sample size was estimated to be at least 358 people considering the 95% confidence level based on similar studies [18], the standard deviation of 13.78 for the performance score, at least 1.5 of estimation error, and possible attrition of 10%.
Used devices&materials
The data collection tools included a questionnaire and a behavior observation checklist, both of which were designed by the research team using relevant studies [18, 19]. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 23 and AMOS 23 software by linear regression analysis and path analysis.
Findings by Text
Of the 358 participated mothers, 249 cases (69.6%) were urban residents and 109 cases (30.4%) were rural residents. The mean age of the mothers and fathers was 29.5 ± 6.0 and 34.5 ±34.48 years, respectively. Also, 91.3% of the mothers were housewives and 37.4% had primary and secondary school education, and 46.9% of the fathers had non-governmental jobs and 39.4% had a high school education. Of a total of 358 studied premature infants, the mean age at birth was 33.73 ±2.28 weeks and the mean birth weight was 2028/563 ±563.69 g. Also, 57.3% were boys and 42.7% were girls. In addition, 13.4% of the mothers had a premature infant, 4.2% had two premature infants, and 93.3% of all infants had a history of jaundice. Preventive behaviors with 91.2% of the mean score from the maximum score had the highest, and the cue to action construct with 58.6% of the average score from the maximum score had the lowest value (Table 1).Injury prevention behavior in mothers showed a significant relationship with mother’s age (p = 0.01), education (p = 0.001), father's job (p = 0.02), infant gender, and number of previous children (p = 0.001); however, it did not have a significant relationship with other To study the fitness of the path model, fitness indices were used and based on the obtained values (RMSEA= 0.61, CFI = 0.99, GFI= 0.10, and R2=0.36), the model had a good fit (Figure 1).demographic variables (P <0.05; Table 2).The direct effect of the constructs, including perceived benefits (p = 0.001), perceived severity (p = 0.005), perceived sensitivity (p = 0.035), and self-efficacy (p = 0.10) on preventive behaviors by the mother of premature infants regarding premature infant injuries was statistically significant. However, the direct effect of the cue to action (p = 0.430) and perceived barriers (p = 0.230) on behavior was not significant. Nonetheless, the indirect effect of the cue to action on the preventive behavior by the mother of premature infants was statistically significant regarding premature infant injuries (p = 0.10). Therefore, the predictive role of these variables in preventive behaviors was confirmed by the mother of premature infants regarding premature infant injuries (Table 3). Also, the HBM constructs indicated 36% of the changes in the behavior of mothers regarding the care of their premature infant against injury (R2 = 0.36).
Main comparison to the similar studies
Different results have been reported on the importance of awareness in injury prevention behaviors. For example, the findings of the present study were consistent with those reported by Rezapour et al. [20, 21]. Santagati et al. also reported a direct relationship between awareness and level of education and mothers' beliefs in injury prevention that is consistent with the present study [22]. However, these results are not consistent with those announced by Ghasemi et al [23], which can be due to the demographic and cultural differences between the groups of mothers studied and the type of training given by the staff and its impact on the behavior and performance of mothers, as well as the environment of the intensive care unit. … [24-26].
Suggestions
Interventional and educational studies on mothers with premature infants are recommended in order to prevent accidental injuries.
Limitations
Self-reporting for data collection was one of the limitations of the present study.
Conclusions
The HBM has a good fit and is useful in investigating mothers' behaviors in caring for their premature neonates against injuries.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the Vice-Chancellor for Research and Education of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, as well as the mothers of the participants in the study.
Conflict of interest
None to declare.
Ethical Permissions
This study was approved by the ethics committee of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences (IR.UMSHA.REC.1397.892).
Funding Sources
This study was approved and supported by the Vice-Chancellor for Research and Technology of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences (9712077558).

TABLES and CHARTS

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