Abstract:
Diabetes prevention behavior is important for diabetes incidence in pregnant women at risk. This prospective study aimed to study the factors influencing gestational diabetes prevention behavior among 161 pregnant women at risk for gestational diabetes who attended antenatal care at 2 hospitals in Chonburi province. The research instruments used consisted of personal data questionnaire, gestational diabetes prevention behavior questionnaire, risk perception questionnaire, disease severity perception questionnaire, disease prevention benefit perception questionnaire, barriers to disease prevention perception questionnaire, self-efficacy perception questionnaire, and social support questionnaire. The validity index was .96, 1.0, 1.0, .91, .86, 1.0, and 1.0, respectively, and the reliability was .83, .74, .94, .91, .86, .92, and .85, respectively. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. The results of the research found that the behavior to prevent gestational diabetes was at a moderate level (x̄ = 43.81, SD = 7.68). Perceived risk of disease, perceived severity of disease, perceived benefits of disease prevention, perceived barriers to disease prevention, perceived self-efficacy, and social support could jointly predict gestational diabetes prevention behavior by 23 percent (R2 = .230, F(6,160) = 7.630, p = .003). Perceived self-efficacy and social support mostly influenced the diabetes prevention behavior. Nurses should promote diabetes prevention behaviors by increasing self-efficacy and family support to reduce the incidence of gestational diabetes.