Exploring an adapted Risk Behaviour Diagnosis Scale among Indigenous Australian women who had experiences of smoking during pregnancy: a cross-sectional survey in regional New South Wales, Australia

Objectives

Explore Aboriginal women’s responses to an adapted Risk Behaviour Diagnosis (RBD) Scale about smoking in pregnancy.

Methods and design

An Aboriginal researcher interviewed women and completed a cross-sectional survey including 20 Likert scales.

Setting

Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services, community groups and playgroups and Aboriginal Maternity Services in regional New South Wales, Australia.

Participants

Aboriginal women (n=20) who were pregnant or gave birth in the preceding 18 months; included if they had experiences of smoking or quitting during pregnancy.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

Primary outcomes: RBD constructs of perceived threat and perceived efficacy, dichotomised into high versus low. Women who had quit smoking, answered retrospectively. Secondary outcome measures: smoking status, intentions to quit smoking (danger control), protection responses (to babies/others) and fear control responses (denial/refutation). Scales were assessed for internal consistency. A chart plotted responses from low to high efficacy and low to high threat.

Results

RBD Scales had moderate-to-good consistency (0.67–0.89 Cronbach’s alpha). Nine women had quit and 11 were smoking; 6 currently pregnant and 14 recently pregnant. Mean efficacy level 3.9 (SD=0.7); mean threat 4.3 (SD=0.7). On inspection, a scatter plot revealed a cluster of 12 women in the high efficacy-high threat quadrant—of these 11 had quit or had a high intention of quitting. Conversely, a group with low threat-low efficacy (5 women) were all smokers and had high fear control responses: of these, 4 had low protection responses. Pregnant women had a non-significant trend for higher threat and lower efficacy, than those previously pregnant.

Conclusion

Findings were consistent with a previously validated RBD Scale showing Aboriginal smokers with high efficacy-high threat had greater intentions to quit smoking. The RBD Scale could have diagnostic potential to tailor health messages. Longitudinal research required with a larger sample to explore associations with the RBD Scale and quitting.

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