Abstract

The purposes of this study were to: investigate barriers to prenatal care, both structural and psychosocial; test the Pender Health Promotion Model and the Triandis Model of Social Behavior to determine their effectiveness in predicting utilization of prenatal care; and document behaviors women perform during pregnancy to stay healthy. The sample consisted of 207 low-income pregnant women recruited from a public clinic at their first prenatal visit. The Pender Model was operationalized with the following instruments: the Laffrey Health Conception Scale, Wellness Subscale; the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale, Form A, Internal Subscale; the Krondak Barriers and Benefits to Prenatal Care Scale; the Personal Competence Scale; the Value Survey; a single item measuring perceived health status; and researcher-developed scales measuring interpersonal factors, behavioral factors, situational factors, and demographic factors. The Triandis Model was operationalized by researcher-developed scales measuring the following constructs: behavioral intention, affect, facilitating conditions, norms, self-concept, role perceptions, habit, and perceived consequences. Utilization of prenatal care was measured using Kotelchuck's Adequacy of Prenatal Care Utilization Index. In addition, two open-ended questions regarding the woman's healthy behaviors practiced during pregnancy and her sources of health information were asked. Path analysis was used in model testing. The Pender model was significant in the prediction of prenatal care adequacy (p $

Description

This dissertation has also been disseminated through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Dissertation/thesis number: 9538432; ProQuest document ID: 304229137. The author still retains copyright.

Author Details

Lynne Porter Lewallen, PhD, RN

Sigma Membership

Gamma Zeta

Type

Dissertation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Other

Research Approach

Mixed/Multi Method Research

Keywords:

Pregnant Women's Care, Low-income Mothers, Prenatal Nursing

Advisors

Fogel, Catherine Ingram

Degree

PhD

Degree Grantor

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Degree Year

1995

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.

All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Date of Issue

2019-12-05

Full Text of Presentation

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