Details:

Alternative Title:
J Womens Health (Larchmt)
Personal Author:
deRosset, Leslie ; Mullenix, Amy ; Flores, Alina ; Mattia-Dewey, Daniel ; Mai, Cara T.
deRosset, Leslie ; Mullenix, Amy ; Flores, Alina ; Mattia-Dewey, Daniel ; Mai, Cara T. Less -
Description:
Background

The U.S. Public Health Service recommends that all women in the United States capable of becoming pregnant consume 400 μg of folic acid daily to reduce their risk of having a pregnancy affected by a neural tube defect (NTD). However, disparities exist in the consumption of folic acid, with Hispanic women having lower rates of folic acid consumption than non-Hispanic white women.

Methods

A community-based feasibility study was designed to assess the utility of the promotora de salud model to promote consumption of multivitamins containing folic acid for the prevention of NTDs among Spanish-speaking Hispanic women in North Carolina. The study consisted of an educational intervention given by a promotora (a lay, community health worker), with data collection occurring at baseline and four months post-intervention to measure changes in knowledge and behavior. Overall, 52% (n = 303) of participants completed all components of the study.

Results

Self-reported daily multivitamin consumption increased from 24% at baseline to 71% four months post-intervention. During the same time frame, awareness of folic acid increased from 78% to 98% and knowledge of the role of folic acid in the prevention of birth defects increased from 82% to 92%.

Conclusions

The results of this study indicate that the promotora de salud model may be effective in reaching a subpopulation of women with the folic acid message. Additional studies with larger population sizes are warranted to validate these findings.


Subject:
[+]
Adult
Article
Dietary Supplements
Feasibility Studies
Female
Folic Acid
Healthcare Disparities
Health Education
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Health Promotion
Hispanic Americans
Humans
Neural Tube Defects
Preconception Care
Pregnancy
Program Evaluation
Vitamins
Young Adult

Source:
J Womens Health (Larchmt). 23(6):525-531
Pubmed ID:
24707879
Pubmed Central ID:
PMC4464669
Document Type:
Journal Article
Funding:
CC999999/Intramural CDC HHS/United States
Place as Subject:
North Carolina
Collection(s):
CDC Public Access
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:523cc4795c70f588b8d03d311bebd0aa8b784e2a09bf22cb44ed98cf662aac31
File Type:

Supporting Files

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