Validation of the Persian version of family health climate scale (FHC-Scale) in Iranian families.

BACKGROUND: Family health is an important issue which has attracted researchers from different fields. The present study aimed to validate the Persian version of the Family Health Climate Scale (FHC-Scale). METHODS: In this methodological research, a total of 620 individuals presenting to Comprehensive Healthcare centers affiliated with Mashhad University of Medical Sciences and Gonabad University of Medical Sciences were selected through random multistage sampling. Validation of the FHC-Scale was performed. First, the original scale was translated and back-translated. Then its content validity and construct validity were assessed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Reliability was assessed using internal consistency and stability. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) and LISREL version 8.5 (SSI Inc., Skokie, IL, USA). RESULTS: Results of exploratory factor analysis showed that "physical activity" of family health climate scale (FHC-PA) has three dimensions: value, cohesion and information explaining 61.99% of the variance. "Nutrition" of family health climate scale (FHC-NU) had four dimensions of value, communication, cohesion and consensus explaining 66.19% of the variance. Internal consistency of the dimensions of (FHC-PA) ranged 0.82-0.85 and that for FHC-NU ranged 0.82-0.84. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed goodness of fit and confirmed family health climate scale (Nutrition and physical activity). CONCLUSION: Results of the study revealed that the FHC-Scale has appropriate reliability and validity for Iranian families. Therefore, the Persian version of the scale can be used for assessing health-related aspects of family.

Health literacy and quality of life among Iranian pregnant women: The mediating role of health locus of control.

Background: Main health challenge of the 21st century is improving quality of life (QoL). This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of health locus of control (HLC) between health literacy and QoL among Iranian pregnant women. Methods: In this cross sectional survey, 400 pregnant women referred to the community health centers of Gonabad, Iran, and completed the demographic, health literacy, QoL, and multidimensional HLC questionnaires during 2015-2016. Descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling were conducted using SPSS 22.0 version and AMOS 24.0 software. Results: The findings showed that health literacy has a significant positive effect on the physical (ß= 0.54, p< 0.001) and mental (ß= 0.57, p< 0.001) health. Also, it has a significant positive effect on internal subscale (ß= 0.42, p< 0.001) and a significant negative effect on the chance (ß= -0.51, p< 0.001) and powerful others (ß= -0.33, p< 0.001) subscale of HLC. From HLC subscales, internal HLC had a significant positive effect on physical (ß= 0.26, p< 0.001) and mental (ß= 0.12, p= 0.010) health, while the effects of chance and powerful others on QoL dimensions were not significant. The findings indicated that internal HLC is a partial mediator between health literacy and physical dimension of QoL. Conclusion: The results indicate that health literacy can be considered as an effective factor in HLC orientations and can improve QoL. This reflects the need for more attention on health literacy and the recognition of the type of HLC beliefs, especially the internal belief in health promotion programs for pregnant women.

The prediction of postpartum depression: The role of the PRECEDE model and health locus of control.

BACKGROUND: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the PRECEDE model and health locus of control (HLC) on postpartum depression. This study used the path analysis to test the pattern of causal relations through the correlation coefficients. MATERIALS AND METHOD: The participants included 230 pregnant women in the north-east of Iran who were selected by convenience sampling. To analyze data, Pearson correlation and path analysis were applied to examine the relationships between variables using SPSS 20 and LISREL 8.50software. RESULTS: The result of path analysis showed that a positive correlation exists between predisposing (knowledge, internal HLC, powerful others HLC, chance HLC) enabling and reinforcing factors with postpartum depression by GHQ score (GFI = 1, RSMEA = 000). CONCLUSION: The current study supported the application of the PRECEDE model and HLC in understanding the promoting behaviors in mental health and demonstrated their relationships with postpartum depression.