Association between Depression Literacy and Health-Promoting Behaviors among Pregnant Women Referred to Health Centers

Yavarmanesh, Kianoosh; Kazemi, Farzaneh; Tehrani, Hadi; Pourhaji, Fahimeh

[Home ] [Archive]

[ فارسی ]

Iranian Journal of Health Education and Health Promotion

فصلنامه آموزش بهداشت و ارتقاء سلامت ایران

Main Menu

Home

Journal Information

Articles archive

For Authors

Publication Ethics

Editorial policy

Contact us

Site Facilities

Reviewe

Citation Impact

Search in website

COPE Membership

Creative Commons Licence

Open access

Back to the articles list

Back to browse issues page

Association between Depression Literacy and Health-Promoting Behaviors among Pregnant Women Referred to Health Centers

Kianoosh Yavarmanesh

, Farzaneh Kazemi

, Hadi Tehrani

, Fahimeh Pourhaji ^*

Abstract: (14 Views)

Background and Objective: This study was designed and conducted with the aim of determining the relationship between depression literacy and health-promoting behaviors among pregnant women attending health centers in Kashmar city.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the first half of 1404. The study population consisted of pregnant women attending health centers in Kashmar City, selected via convenience sampling. The data collection tool was a three-part questionnaire including demographic information, the Depression Literacy Questionnaire, and Walker's Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 24.

Results: The mean and standard deviation (±SD) of depression literacy and health-promoting behaviors were 45.52 (±5.35) and 128.95 (±22.79), respectively. According to Pearson correlation coefficient results, there is a significant positive correlation between depression literacy and health-promoting behaviors in pregnant women (r=0.125, p<0.05). Among the subscales of health‑promoting behaviors, the highest mean score belonged to health responsibility (32.87 ± 7.03). Participants with a family history of mental illness had significantly higher levels of depression literacy than others (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: The results indicated that there may be a relationship between higher depression literacy and health‑promoting behaviors in pregnant women referred to health centers in Kashmar County. Overall, both depression literacy and health‑promoting behaviors are areas in which pregnant women still require more education.

Open Access Policy: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Keywords: Depression Literacy, Pregnant Women, Health‑Promoting Behavior

Type of Study: Research | Subject: Health Education & Health Promotion
Received: 2026/05/14 | Accepted: 2026/09/25

References

1. Nguyen Thai QC, Nguyen TH. Mental health literacy: knowledge of depression among undergraduate students in Hanoi, Vietnam. International journal of mental health systems. 2018;12(1):1-8. [DOI:10.1186/s13033-018-0195-1] [PMID] [PMCID]

2. Friedrich MJ. Depression is the leading cause of disability around the world. Jama. 2017;317(15):1517. [DOI:10.1001/jama.2017.3826]

3. Remes O, Mendes JF, Templeton P. Biological, psychological, and social determinants of depression: a review of recent literature. Brain sciences. 2021;11(12):1633. [DOI:10.3390/brainsci11121633] [PMID] [PMCID]

4. Isfahani P, Afshin M, Rasulkhani F, Azizi N. The Prevalence of Depression in Iranian Pregnant Women: A Meta-Analysis. Health_Based Research. 2020;6(1):51-65. [DOI:10.1155/2020/5871402] [PMID] [PMCID]

5. Abbaszadeh F, Atrian MK, Alavi NM, Bagheri A, Sadat Z, Karimian Z. Relationship between quality of life and depression in pregnant women. Nursing and midwifery studies. 2013;2(2):193. [DOI:10.5812/nms.8518] [PMID] [PMCID]

6. Stewart DE, Robertson E, Dennis C-L, Grace SL, Wallington T. Postpartum depression: Literature review of risk factors and interventions. Toronto: University Health Network Women's Health Program for Toronto Public Health. 2003;4:289. [DOI:10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2004.02.006] [PMID]

7. Azami M, Badfar G, Shohani M, Mansouri A, Soleymani A, Shamloo MBB, et al. The Prevalence of Depression in Pregnant Iranian Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Iran J Psychiatry Behav Sci. 2018;12(3):e9975. [DOI:10.5812/ijpbs.9975]

8. Pourhaji F, Delshad MH, Yavarmanesh K. Gastric Cancer Literacy and Related Factors in Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study. Cancer Rep (Hoboken). 2026;9(5):e70486. [DOI:10.1002/cnr2.70486] [PMID] [PMCID]

9. Pourhaji F, Pourhaji F, Delshad MH, Tehrani H. Mental Health Literacy and Health Promoting Behaviors among Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: A Cross-Sectional Study. J Health Lit. 2025;10(3):27-41.

10. Ram D, Benny N, Gowdappa B. Relationship between depression literacy and medication adherence in patients with depression. Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. 2016;6(4):183. [DOI:10.5455/jmood.20161123023646]

11. Walker SN, Sechrist KR, Pender NJ. The healthpromoting lifestyle profile: development and psychometric characteristics. Nurs Research.1987; 36(2):76-81. [DOI:10.1097/00006199-198703000-00002] [PMID]

12. Bisetegn TA, Mihretie G, Muche T. Prevalence and Predictors of Depression among Pregnant Women in Debretabor Town, Northwest Ethiopia. PLoS One. 2016;11(9):e0161108. [DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0161108] [PMID] [PMCID]

13. Mirsalimi F, Ghofranipour F, Montazeri A, Noroozi A. Postpartum depression literacy among pregnant women. Payesh (Health Monitor). 2019;18(5):525-33. [DOI:10.1037/t96008-000]

14. Lee YJ. Depression Literacy, Associated Factors, and Correlation of Related Variables in Middle-Aged Korean Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023;20(11):6021. [DOI:10.3390/ijerph20116021] [PMID] [PMCID]

15. Mahmoodi H, Asghari-Jafarabadi M, Babazadeh T, Shirzadi S, Mohammadi Y, Sharifi-Saqezi P, et al. Health Promoting Behaviors in Pregnant Women Admitted to the Prenatal Care Unit of Imam Khomeini Hospital of Saqqez. Journal of Education and Community Health. 2015;1(4):59-65. [DOI:10.20286/jech-010458]

16. Tehrani H, Nejatian M, Moshki M, Jafari A. Psychometric properties of Persian version of depression literacy (D-Lit) questionnaire among general population. International Journal of Mental Health Systems. 2022;16(1):1-11. [DOI:10.1186/s13033-022-00550-x] [PMID] [PMCID]

17. Mohammadi Zeidi I, Pakpour Hajiagha A, Mohammadi Zeidi B. Reliability and Validity of Persian Version of the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile. J Mazandaran Univ Med Sci. 2012;21(86):102-113.

18. Cohen J. Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. 2nd ed. Hillsdale (NJ): Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; 1988.

19. Anbari K, Mostafavi SM, Ghanadi K. Health Promoting Behaviors in Women of Khorramabad City in Western Iran in 2013. Women's Health Bull. 2015;2(1):1-5. [DOI:10.17795/whb-22162]

20. Kara P, Nazik E, Karaçay Yıkar S, Var E, Akçayüzlü Ö, Özdemir F. Health-Promoting Lifestyles in Pregnant Adolescents and the Affecting Factors. J Midwifery Health Sci. 2024;7(1):110-119.

21. Fathnezhad-Kazemi A, Aslani A, Hajian S. Association between Perceived Social Support and Health-Promoting lifestyle in Pregnant Women: A Cross-Sectional Study. J Caring Sci. 2021;10(2):96-102. doi: 10.34172/jcs.2021.018. [DOI:10.34172/jcs.2021.018] [PMID] [PMCID]

22. Kheirabadi D, Kheirabadi GR, Tarrahi MJ. Depression literacy and the related factors among a group of hospitals' staff in Iran. International Journal of Social Psychiatry. 2021;67(4):369-75. [DOI:10.1177/0020764020954886] [PMID]

23. Maulina R, Kuo SC, Liu CY, Lu YY, Khuzaiyah S, Caparros-Gonzalez RA. Does attachment and prenatal depression affect maternal health-promoting lifestyle during pregnancy? A cross-sectional study. Clin Epidemiol Glob Health. 2025;31:101904. [DOI:10.1016/j.cegh.2024.101904]

24. Delaram M, SoltaniPoor F, Jafarzadeh L. Effects of fetal movement counting on mental health of mother in third trimester: A randomized controlled trial. Iran J Obstet Gynecol Infertil. 2015;18(139):8-14.

25. Frempong AB. Mental Health Literacy and Help-Seeking Behaviour among Pregnant women in the New Juaben Municipality, Eastern Region [MPhil. Nursing thesis]. Accra, Ghana: University of Ghana; 2022.

Send email to the article author

Add your comments about this article