Predictors of Hookah Smoking among Women in Bandar Abbas, Southern Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study Based on the Intervention Mapping Protocol

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the predictors of hookah smoking (HS) among professional HS women in Bandar Abbas, southern Iran using intervention mapping protocol. Methods: The present cross-sectional study is part of a larger study, which was conducted on 332 HS women using a multistage (clustered and randomized) process. Data were collected from October 2018 to August 2019 using a researcher-made questionnaire. Results: Mean age of the participants was 36.1 ± 13.3 years. Ordinal regression model, after the control of confounding variables, showed that attitudes, self-efficacy, habits, and intention were the most important predictors of HS behavior in women (OR = 1.14). The prevalence of HS was 1.76 times higher in women who did not want to quit hookah. Knowledge and Social norms were not associated with the HS behavior. Conclusions: According to the present findings, changing or eliminating women’s positive attitude toward HS is deemed possible through reducing the social acceptance of HS in enculturating the negative attitude in society, enhancing women’s self-efficacy via purposeful and specific education on resisting hookah temptation, unraveling all factors involved in habit formation and adjusting these factors through long-term interventions and timely interventions to affect intention to consumption before the actual occurrence of behavior (HS).