Abstract:
The present study aimed at investigating the effect of a nutrition promoting nursing
program on nutrition promoting behavior and nutrition status of pregnant women with
hemoglobin-E trait. The study sample consisted of 60 pregnant women with hemoglobin-E
trait who sought prenatal care at Rayong Hospital. The sample was selected by means of
purposive sampling, and 30 of them were assigned into an experimental group and the other
30 into a control group. The subjects in the experimental group received routine nursing care
together with a nutrition promoting nursing program provided by the researcher, while the
control subjects received only routine nursing care from the on-duty nurses. Data were
collected by means of a demographic characteristic questionnaire, a food consumption
behavior questionnaire, and a food frequency interview form. Both the experimental and
control subjects completed the food consumption behavior questionnaire, measured their body
weight, measured their hematocrit level, and were interviewed regarding amount and
frequency of food consumption before the experiment began and eight weeks after the
experiment ended. Chi-square and t-test were used for comparison.
The study findings revealed that most of the pregnant women who participated in the
study did not have sufficient income. In addition, the mean score of food consumption
behaviors of the experimental subjects was higher than that of the control subjects with
statistical significance (t = 4.59, p < .01). Moreover, when considering the hematocrit levels,
it was found that after the experiment the mean hematocrit level of the experimental group
reduced by 0.3%, while that of the control subjects reduced by 0.93%. However, there were
no statistically significant differences (p > .05). Finally, food consumption behaviors and
weight gain of the subjects in both groups were not statistically significantly different (p >
.05).
The findings of the study led to the conclusion that the nutrition promoting nursing care
program can improve food consumption behaviors of pregnant women with hemoglobin-E
trait. However, its effects on their nutrition status are not conclusive. Therefore, it should be
revised and its effects should continuously be monitored and determined.