The effect of Internet-based nutrition education according to Pender's health promotion model on gestational weight gain: Study protocol for a randomized controlled clinical trial.

Background: Gestational weight gain (GWG) should be managed appropriately because both inadequate and excessive weight gain have negative health consequences for mother and child. Therefore, we report the study design for investigating the effect of nutrition education based on Pender's health promotion model (HPM) through the smartphone app on GWG.

Materials and methods: This randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be performed on the Internet for intervention by uploading text messages, audio, images, and portable document format (PDF) files via a group in one of the virtual messenger networks with the title "Nutrition education research plan." After random allocation, both control and intervention groups will receive the routine prenatal care including dietary recommendations. The data will be collected using a multipart researcher-made questionnaire containing 33 questions including demographic information and Pender's construct parts. The evaluation is performed with pretest, posttest, and measurement of the obtained weight. Paired and independent samples t-tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measurements will be applied to compare mean scores of constructs of Pender's HPM and gained weights.

Results: The results of this study will clarify whether the present intervention will be effective on the total gestational weight gain and the weight gained in different weeks of pregnancy compared to the control group.

Conclusion: The obtained findings of this study might be useful for managing GWG and consequently maternal and neonatal outcomes.