Abstract:
The purposes of this descriptive study were to examine the relationships between personal factors, lifestyle, and health outcomes in women with gestational diabetes and to determine the ability of personal factors and lifestyle in predicting health outcomes. Seven research settings were randomly selected using random sampling method with sample of 140 gestational diabetes mellitus women participated in the study. Data were collected using three research questionnaires including the demographic data sheet, the lifestyle questionnaires: LQ, and health outcomes questionnaires. The lifestyle questionnaire was content validated and tested for reliability in which the Cronbach's alpha was 0.92. Research data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson product moment correlation coefficient, and Logistic regression. The major findings were as follows: 1. Seventy percents of women were able to control their blood sugar. In addition, 62.9% of the infant had normal birth weight. 2.For personal factors, maternal education and family income were statistically significant correlated with blood sugar control (r =0.31, p < 0.01, and r = 0.17, p < 0.05, respectively). Furthermore, maternal education and family income were also statistically significant correlated with infant birth weight (r = -0.22, p< 0.22, and r = -0.19, p < 0.05, respectively) 3. Overall maternal lifestyle was significantly correlated with blood sugar control and infant birth weight (r = 0.44, -0.44, p < 0.05 respectively). Lifestyle in the aspects of nutrition, health awareness, and social support were significantly correlated with blood sugar control (r = -0.50, -0.38, and -0.41, p < 0.05, respectively) and infant birth weight (r = -0.52, -0.38 and -0.44, p < 0.05, respectively). However, lifestyle in the aspects of identity awareness lifestyle, physical activity participation, safety and stress management were not correlated with blood sugar control and infant birth weight. 4. For the predictive ability, maternal education, lifestyle in the aspects of nutrition, health awareness and social support were significant predictors (OR = 1.16, 1.18, 1.07 and 1.46, p < 0.05 respectively) and accounted for 81.4% of blood sugar control in gestational diabetes mellitus women. Additionally, lifestyle in the aspects of identity awareness, nutrition, health awareness, stress management and social support were significant predictors (OR = 1.38, 0.80, 0.89, 1.34, and 0.67, p < 0.05 respectively) and accounted for 79.3% of the infant birth weight.