Improving physical activity and metabolic syndrome indicators in women: a transtheoretical model-based intervention.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed at investigating the impact of an educational intervention based on transtheoretical model to increase physical activity and improve metabolic syndrome indicators in women. METHODS: In this quasi-experimental study, 142 women with metabolic syndrome were randomly assigned to the case and control group (each group 71 participants). SECQ (Marcus), processes of change (Marcus), decisional balance (Bandura) and self-efficacy (Nigg) questionnaires and International Physical Activities Standard Questionnaire in preintervention, 3 and 6 months after intervention were completed. Furthermore, abdominal obesity, triglycerides (TG), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) were measured. Physical activity intervention based on transtheoretical model (TTM) was performed in the case group. Finally, data were analyzed by SPSS (16) (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) and repeated measure ANOVA, independent t-test and Freidman was used. A two-tailed P value, lower than 0.05, was considered to be statistically significant. RESULTS: After the intervention, physical activity level increased in the intervention group, and they also progressed in stages of change, but the people in the control group had regressed. All changes in TTM constructs were significant in the intervention group during the time and differences in pros and cons were not significant in the control group. Abdominal obesity and TG has significantly reduced, and HDL has increased in the intervention group. In the control group, there was a significant increase in TGs and a decrease in HDL. CONCLUSIONS: Physical activity training based on TTM can improve physical activity and metabolic syndrome indicators in women.

Applying Transtheoretical Model to Promote Physical Activities Among Women.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity is one of the most important indicators of health in communities but different studies conducted in the provinces of Iran showed that inactivity is prevalent, especially among women. OBJECTIVES: Inadequate regular physical activities among women, the importance of education in promoting the physical activities, and lack of studies on the women using transtheoretical model, persuaded us to conduct this study with the aim of determining the application of transtheoretical model in promoting the physical activities among women of Isfahan. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This research was a quasi-experimental study which was conducted on 141 women residing in Isfahan, Iran. They were randomly divided into case and control groups. In addition to the demographic information, their physical activities and the constructs of the transtheoretical model (stages of change, processes of change, decisional balance, and self-efficacy) were measured at 3 time points; preintervention, 3 months, and 6 months after intervention. Finally, the obtained data were analyzed through t test and repeated measures ANOVA test using SPSS version 16. RESULTS: The results showed that education based on the transtheoretical model significantly increased physical activities in 2 aspects of intensive physical activities and walking, in the case group over the time. Also, a high percentage of people have shown progress during the stages of change, the mean of the constructs of processes of change, as well as pros and cons. On the whole, a significant difference was observed over the time in the case group (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that interventions based on the transtheoretical model can promote the physical activity behavior among women.

Iranian version of childbirth self-efficacy inventory.

AIM: The primary purpose of this study was to translate the Lowe's Childbirth Self-Efficacy Inventory to Persian and to examine the psychometric properties of its Iranian version. BACKGROUND: Self-efficacy for childbirth has been found to be a factor in a woman's decision about her choice of delivery and an essential key in coping with labour pain. Creating a valid and reliable questionnaire is necessary to gain a better understanding of the emotional preparation of pregnant women. It is also essential for the development of educational interventions and improving the sense of self-efficacy during pregnancy. DESIGN: Questionnaire translation. METHODS: The standard 'forward-backward' procedure was applied to translate the questionnaire from English into Persian (Iranian language) and then was reviewed by a panel of experts. We used exploratory factor analysis to examine the construct validity of the instrument. To test the reliability, Cronbach's coefficient alpha was employed. A random sample of 176 pregnant women, attending public prenatal clinics in Tehran, was recruited for participation in the study. RESULTS: The results indicated that each subscales of Childbirth Self-Efficacy Inventory is essentially a unidimensional scale. The results revealed that Iranian pregnant women were able to distinguish between self-efficacy expectancy and outcome expectancy, but they did not differentiate the active phase of labour from second stage. Religious or spiritual beliefs were found to have an important role in the Iranian version of the Childbirth Self-Efficacy Inventory. CONCLUSION: This preliminary study of the Iranian version of the Childbirth Self-Efficacy Inventory showed that it is an acceptable, reliable and valid measure of women's belief and their confidence in coping with labour pain. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: A culturally sensitive, reliable and valid instrument is crucial to better understand the self-efficacy of childbirth as a basis for developing effective interventions to increase normal childbirth among Iranian pregnant women.