Designing Spouse-based Educational Intervention to Reduce Second-hand Smoke For Pregnant Women: A Study Protocol For Randomized Control Trial

Introduction: Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure affects not only the maternal wellbeing but also unborn baby. This study aims to develop a spouse-based educational intervention to reduce SHS exposure by examining the understanding and perception of both pregnant women and their smoking spouses. Methods: Using a sequential exploratory mixed-method research design, this study will be conducted through four phases. In the first phase, a qualitative study will be conducted to examine the understanding and perception of pregnant women and their smoking spouses regarding secondhand smoke exposure. In the second phase, the content of the educational intervention will be designed based on the outcomes of the first phase and from the literature review. Validation of the designed intervention will be conducted by experts to assess the accuracy of the contents in phase 3. After the validation, a pilot study will be conducted to measure the comprehensiveness of the module. The feasibility and effectiveness of the intervention will be measured in phase four by a pre-test and post-test study design. Expected outcome and conclusion: The designed educational intervention module of SHS exposure can be used as a breakthrough point to empower non-smoking pregnant women to protect themselves from secondhand smoke exposure, and also to facilitate the smoking spouse to change their smoking behavior, and thus promote the smoke-free home.