Knowledge and use of folic acid among North Carolina women - Page 3 |
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State Center for Health Statistics 3 SCHS Study No. 126 – Folic Acid Use Health Statistics and the Division of Reproductive Health within the CDC. PRAMS is an ongoing, population- based survey of North Carolina resident women who have recently given birth. The survey is carried out according to strict protocols for data quality, as specified by CDC. Each month, approximately 200 women who are 2 to 3 months postpartum are randomly selected from the North Carolina birth certificate files. Participants are asked to complete a self- administered mailed questionnaire, which collects information on a variety of risk factors for poor pregnancy outcomes, including behavioral and psychosocial risks, access to and use of health care services, and other issues. Non- respondents are contacted by telephone in order to increase the survey response rate. The overall response rate for PRAMS is approximately 75 percent. The questionnaire used by the North Carolina PRAMS program contains three questions that pertain to folic acid. These are: Have you ever heard or read that taking the vitamin folic acid can help prevent some birth defects? Where did you hear or read that taking the vitamin folic acid can help prevent some birth defects? Before you knew you were pregnant, how frequently did you take either vitamins containing folic acid or multivitamins? Sample weights were applied to the survey data so that the responses are representative of all North Carolina women who delivered live born infants during calendar year 1999. All percentages reported here are based on the weighted estimates. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals ( CIs) based on the weighted responses were generated using SUDAAN software, which is used for analysis of weighted data from complex samples. 10 Results A total of 1,780 women responded to the North Carolina PRAMS survey in 1999, for a total response rate of 73.8 percent. The survey indicated that, overall, 76.8 percent of women who delivered in 1999 had heard or read that taking folic acid can help prevent birth defects ( Table 1). However there were marked differences in folic acid awareness according to maternal demographics. Knowledge of folic acid was highest among women ages 25- 34 ( 86.1 percent) and women ages 35 and above ( 82.9 percent), and lowest among women under 20 years old ( 60.9 percent). Caucasian women were more likely to have heard or read about folic acid compared to African American women or women of other races ( 80.8 percent, 67.2 percent, and 56.6 percent, respectively). The difference in knowledge of folic acid by mother’s education was quite pronounced. Among women with more than a high school education, 90.3 percent had heard or read about folic acid, compared to only 54.8 percent among women with less than a high school education. Awareness of folic acid also increased with increasing family income, ranging from 63.6 percent for women with annual incomes less than $ 16,000, to 91.4 percent among women with incomes of $ 40,000 or more. Mothers who were unmarried, who were enrolled in WIC, or who received Medicaid were also less likely to have heard or read about folic acid. Table 2 shows the percentage of women who had heard or read about folic acid from various sources. Among all women who delivered in 1999, 51.3 percent were told about folic acid by their doctor, nurse, or other clinic staff. Slightly less than one- half of women heard about folic acid through the media ( radio, TV, newspaper). About 37 percent of women read about folic acid through brochures or other literature obtained from their health care provider’s office, and about 14 percent heard about it through other sources ( e. g., friends, family members, coworkers). The percentages add to more than 100 because many women heard about folic acid from more than one source.
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Full Text | State Center for Health Statistics 3 SCHS Study No. 126 – Folic Acid Use Health Statistics and the Division of Reproductive Health within the CDC. PRAMS is an ongoing, population- based survey of North Carolina resident women who have recently given birth. The survey is carried out according to strict protocols for data quality, as specified by CDC. Each month, approximately 200 women who are 2 to 3 months postpartum are randomly selected from the North Carolina birth certificate files. Participants are asked to complete a self- administered mailed questionnaire, which collects information on a variety of risk factors for poor pregnancy outcomes, including behavioral and psychosocial risks, access to and use of health care services, and other issues. Non- respondents are contacted by telephone in order to increase the survey response rate. The overall response rate for PRAMS is approximately 75 percent. The questionnaire used by the North Carolina PRAMS program contains three questions that pertain to folic acid. These are: Have you ever heard or read that taking the vitamin folic acid can help prevent some birth defects? Where did you hear or read that taking the vitamin folic acid can help prevent some birth defects? Before you knew you were pregnant, how frequently did you take either vitamins containing folic acid or multivitamins? Sample weights were applied to the survey data so that the responses are representative of all North Carolina women who delivered live born infants during calendar year 1999. All percentages reported here are based on the weighted estimates. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals ( CIs) based on the weighted responses were generated using SUDAAN software, which is used for analysis of weighted data from complex samples. 10 Results A total of 1,780 women responded to the North Carolina PRAMS survey in 1999, for a total response rate of 73.8 percent. The survey indicated that, overall, 76.8 percent of women who delivered in 1999 had heard or read that taking folic acid can help prevent birth defects ( Table 1). However there were marked differences in folic acid awareness according to maternal demographics. Knowledge of folic acid was highest among women ages 25- 34 ( 86.1 percent) and women ages 35 and above ( 82.9 percent), and lowest among women under 20 years old ( 60.9 percent). Caucasian women were more likely to have heard or read about folic acid compared to African American women or women of other races ( 80.8 percent, 67.2 percent, and 56.6 percent, respectively). The difference in knowledge of folic acid by mother’s education was quite pronounced. Among women with more than a high school education, 90.3 percent had heard or read about folic acid, compared to only 54.8 percent among women with less than a high school education. Awareness of folic acid also increased with increasing family income, ranging from 63.6 percent for women with annual incomes less than $ 16,000, to 91.4 percent among women with incomes of $ 40,000 or more. Mothers who were unmarried, who were enrolled in WIC, or who received Medicaid were also less likely to have heard or read about folic acid. Table 2 shows the percentage of women who had heard or read about folic acid from various sources. Among all women who delivered in 1999, 51.3 percent were told about folic acid by their doctor, nurse, or other clinic staff. Slightly less than one- half of women heard about folic acid through the media ( radio, TV, newspaper). About 37 percent of women read about folic acid through brochures or other literature obtained from their health care provider’s office, and about 14 percent heard about it through other sources ( e. g., friends, family members, coworkers). The percentages add to more than 100 because many women heard about folic acid from more than one source. |