Women's Self-Care and the Explanatory Role of Religion in its Promotion: a Comparative Study in Yazd

Abstract

Introduction: Today, religious coping behaviors such as prayer, hope in God and participation in collective rituals are considered as one of the main determinants of health behaviors because it can have positive effects on women's behavioral strategies with the aim of self-care. However, there is little empirical research in this scope and the present study intends to investigate the relationship between religiosity and self-care of women.
 Methods: The present research was a survey cross-sectional study. The population of this study included all 18-70 year old, of Yazd in 2020. The sample size was determined based on Cochran formula 737 and was used with Probability Proportionate to Size Sampling (PPS). Data based on a researcher-made self-care questionnaire and religiosity standard questionnaire were collected. Results were analyzed using the software SPSS and Amos 24.
 Results: The results on the relationship between religiosity and self-care revealed that the effect of religiosity on self-care was positive and significant. The effectiveness rates of religiosity on women's self-care in the marginal, the middle, and the upper areas were 0.56, 0.38, and 0.36, respectively (p<0.001). Also, there was no significant difference between the intensity of the relationship between religiosity and self-care in the three areas (CR<1.96). Also, the structural equation model had a good fit.
 Conclusions: It is necessary that since women's decision to adopt care-oriented behavior is conditioned by the social conditions that surround them, we should pay special attention to the social contexts in which they live to improve self-care performance in them.