Predicting Fators Influencing Prenatal Care Based on Health Literacy in Primiparous Pregnant Women of Balochistan in 2017

Mothers' health literacy is a key and important factor in ensuring prenatal cares,prenatal health, and the successful outcomes of this period. The aim of this study was to determine the predicting fators influencing prenatal care based on health literacy and demographic variables in pregnant women of Balochistan. This cross sectional study applied cluster-multistage sampling method to select 430 pregnant women referred to health centers of Balochistanin from june to september 2017. Data were collected using Health Literacy for Iranian Adults (HELIA) and Researcher-Made prenatal care questionnaires. Data analysis was descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis. The mean and standard deviation of prenatal care behaviors and health literacy were 13.11±2.18 from 22 and 65.97±17.49 from 100, respectively. The results showed that 17.3% (n=75) of the pregnant women had low health literacy, 30.6% (n=132) not so inadequate literacy, 35.3% (n=153) adequate health literacy, and 16.07% (n=70) excellent health literacy. The results showed that only health literacy among the demographic variables could predict the prenatal care behaviors (P = 0.004, OR=1.027). that shows with 1 unit increase in this variable, prenatal care increased by as much as 1.027. Due to the prediction of health literacy on prenatal care extensive education based on health literacy strategies is essential for improving prenatal care.