Department of Health Sciences, College of Natural and Health Sciences, Zayed University, Dubai P.O. Box 19282, United Arab Emirates.
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, College of Natural and Health Sciences, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 144534, United Arab Emirates.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Aug 29;20(17):6669. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20176669.
The benefits of being physically active during pregnancy are widely acknowledged. It is important for the prevention of chronic diseases and the promotion of good health for mothers and children. However, physical activity by women in the UAE is notoriously low and reduced further during pregnancy. The same can be said regarding research about the knowledge and understanding of the benefits and risks associated with exercise as a predictor of behavior. We aimed to assess knowledge and attitudes towards physical activity during pregnancy amongst Emirati women. A cross-sectional digital survey was designed to assess knowledge and attitudes and distributed to women, aged 18-40 years, using non-randomized, purposeful snowball sampling. A total of 1538 women were recruited. Most participants were aged 20-29 years (53.5%), were Emiratis (88.9%), and had no history of chronic disease (68.6%). The participants self-reported very low levels of PA (75.5%) and had a below-average level of knowledge overall (40.6 ± 20). Younger ages ( < 0.001), lower educational levels ( = 0.004), being employed ( = 0.014), and having a history of chronic disease ( = 0.016) were significantly associated with lower mean knowledge scores, while being married ( = 0.003) was significantly associated with higher scores. The participants also exhibited a positive attitude towards physical activity during pregnancy by selecting answers that they supported it. To encourage physical activity, women living in the UAE could benefit from clear advice about safe physical activity during pregnancy.
怀孕期间进行身体活动的益处已得到广泛认可。这对于预防慢性病和促进母婴健康非常重要。然而，阿联酋女性的身体活动量众所周知很低，而且在怀孕期间进一步减少。同样的情况也可以说是关于与运动相关的知识和理解，即作为行为预测因素的益处和风险的研究。我们旨在评估阿联酋女性在怀孕期间对身体活动的知识和态度。设计了一项横断面数字调查，以评估知识和态度，并使用非随机、有目的的雪球抽样法分发给 18-40 岁的女性。共招募了 1538 名女性。大多数参与者年龄在 20-29 岁（53.5%），是阿联酋人（88.9%），没有慢性病史（68.6%）。参与者自我报告的身体活动水平非常低（75.5%），总体知识水平平均（40.6±20）。较年轻的年龄（<0.001）、较低的教育水平（=0.004）、就业（=0.014）和慢性病史（=0.016）与平均知识得分较低显著相关，而已婚（=0.003）与较高得分显著相关。参与者还对怀孕期间的身体活动表现出积极的态度，选择了支持身体活动的答案。为了鼓励身体活动，居住在阿联酋的女性可以从关于怀孕期间安全身体活动的明确建议中受益。
