Prevalence of Methamphetamine Use and Health Promotion Behaviors among Pregnant Women at Antenatal Clinic of the Subdistrict Health Promotion Hospital in Mueang Udonthani District

Abstract

This descriptive research aimed to study the prevalence of methamphetamine use and health promotion behaviors level and compare health promotion behaviors of pregnant women who use and do not use methamphetamine. The sample consisted of 289 pregnant women who came for antenatal care at the Subdistrict Health Promoting Hospital, Mueang Udonthani District. The tool used was a health promotion behavior evaluation with six aspects: responsibility for health, nutrition, interpersonal relationships, spiritual development, and stress management. Index of item objective congruence (IOC) was .71–1 The overall Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was .98. The descriptive statistics were used and the t-test.
The results found that 17.6% of the sample used methamphetamine. Most samples using methamphetamine had overall health promotion behaviors at a low level (76.5%, and each aspect was at a low level, including responsibility for health and stress management. Most of the other aspects were at a moderate level. The group that did not use methamphetamine had overall health promotion behaviors at a moderate level, and each aspect was at a high level. The overall health promotion behavior and each aspect of the sample who did not use methamphetamine were better than those who used methamphetamine and statistically significant (p<.001, 95%, CI 4.82-65.24).
Recommendations: Every antenatal care service should include a history of substance use and health promotion behavior to provide appropriate assistance and referrals.