Table 2.

Description of development of beliefs about health in migrant women with gestational diabetes born in African countries living in Sweden

Variable	Gestational week 34–38	3 months after delivery	12 months after delivery
Health described as	Freedom from diseasea Mental well-beinga To be healthy to be able to take care of the childa, b	Freedom from diseasea Mental well-beinga To be healthy to be able to take care of the childa, b	Freedom from disease Mental well-being To be healthy to be able to take care of the child a, b
	God decidesc	God decidesc	God decidesc
Factors of importance for health	Manage diet and mealsa Exercisea Follow advice concerning diet, meal times, controls, medicationsa, b	Appropriate dieta Exercisea Nothing particular	Appropriate dieta Exercisea
Factors with negative impact on health	Nothing, except two stating weighta	Nothing	Nothing, except one stating weighta
Maintenance of health and prevention of complications	Diet/exercisea	Diet/exercise but to a lesser extent and particularly concerning exercisea Weight reductiona, b	Diet/exercisea
Use of alternative medicine/home remedies to improve health Religion of importance for health	Not used Religion important for health for all except onec	Not used Religion important for health for all except onec	Not used Religion important for health for all except onec
Celebration of feasts/traditions of importance for health	Most told of positive influence on health and some that it had negative influencea	Many told of positive influence by increased well-being by meeting othersb	Many told of positive influence by increased well-being by meeting othersb
Beliefs about appropriate food	Rich in fibres Reduction of sugar Regular meals The plate model	High fibre, sugar reduction, low fat diet	High-fibre, sugar reduction, low-fat and salt-reduced diet
Beliefs about appropriate exercise	Taking walks is good	Taking walks is good	Taking walks is good
Influence of economy on health	Most considered DM more expensive than ordinary food affecting health A few said economy had no influence on health as they had good economy	Most considered DM more expensive than ordinary food affecting health A few said economy had no influence on health as they had good economy	Most considered DM more expensive than ordinary food affecting health A few said economy had no influence on health as they had good economy

As main analytical categories in data analysis the following have been used, when appropriate, according to the lay theory model of illness causation by Helman [33]: ^aIndividual factors; ^bSocial factors; ^cSupernatural factors