Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to analyze preterm labor preventive behavior and investigate the factors predicting preterm labor preventive behavior among pregnant women working in factories. Participants were of 260 pregnant women working in factories who attended four obstetric private clinics. Data were collected by self-report questionnaires including socio-demographic data, preterm labor preventive behaviors, risky work conditions, perceived benefits of action, perceived barriers to action, perceived self-efficacy, social support, and prenatal care of factories. The content validity index (CVI) for all questionnaires was 0.96, 0.99, 1.0, 0.98, 0.99, 0.92, and 0.97, respectively. The reliability of questionnaires were 0.73, 0.81, 0.71, 0.74, 0.81, 0.90, and 0.90, respectively. Descriptive statistics and backward multiple regression were used to analyze the data. The study results found that the mean score for participants preterm labor preventive behaviors was 50.77 (SD = 5.29). The perceived benefits of action, perceived barriers to action, perceived self-efficacy, and social support were significant factors in predicting preterm labor preventive behaviors. They accounted for 49.7% (R2 = .497) of the variance in preterm labor preventive behaviors. Perceived self-efficacy was the best predictor (β = .531, p < .001), followed by social support (β = .209, p < .001). The findings imply that nurses and other healthcare providers should increase perceived self-efficacy, social support, and preterm labor preventive behaviors to reduce the risk of preterm birth among pregnant women working in factories.