| Description |
The purpose of this thesis was to describe self-reported motivators of overweight or obese reproductive-age women who enrolled in an online National Diabetes Prevention Program's Lifestyle Change Program (DPP LCP). Exploring preconception women's motivations could be a useful tool to shape interventions designed to address enrollment, engagement, and completion rates of the National DPP LCP. Because health outcomes for mom and baby are linked to healthy weights prior to pregnancy, using women's unique motivations can aid with recruitment into evidence-based lifestyle change programs prior to pregnancy leading to better maternal and infant health outcomes and reducing the risk for chronic disease. The participants in this study were overweight (36.8%) or obese (63.2%) women who were planning to become pregnant within the next two years. Of the 47 women enrolled in the National DPP LCP, 38 women shared their motivations for participating with a picture and/or text. The study utilized a mixed methods approach: a qualitative interpretive analysis and a quantitative visual content analysis to describe the participants motivations. The language the women used focused on the collective (family, partner, or children 31.6%), or on a combination of both themselves and their family, partner, or children (both 31.6%), with fewer women having a singular focus on themselves (26.3%). Women with collective motivations were focused on their partner (7.9%), children (28.9%), and family (39.4%). The study also found the focus of women's text motivations was on improving energy, strength, and mobility (34.2%) and on improving their health (34.2%). More than a third of women (34.2%) shared a motivational mantra, quote, or scripture. Understanding overweight and obese women's motivations to enroll and engage in the National DPP LCP prior to pregnancy and helping these women to reflect on their motivations may enhance National DPP LCP engagement, behavior change, and achievement of weight loss goals. |
