Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comment
. 2014 Mar;14(1):255-60.
doi: 10.4314/ahs.v14i1.39.

Compliance with iron-folic acid (IFA) therapy among pregnant women in an urban area of south India

P Mithra  1 , B Unnikrishnan  1 , T Rekha  1 , K Nithin  1 , K Mohan  1 , V Kulkarni  1 , R Holla  1 , D Agarwal  1
Affiliations
Comment

Compliance with iron-folic acid (IFA) therapy among pregnant women in an urban area of south India

P Mithra et al. Afr Health Sci. 2014 Mar.

Abstract

Background: Anaemia is highly prevalent among pregnant women and iron deficiency is the most important cause. Like many other countries, India has policies to give pregnant women iron supplements. Non-compliance is one important challenging factor in combating anaemia.

Objective: To estimate the compliance for IFA tablets among pregnant women and to study the social factors influencing it.

Methodology: This study included 190 pregnant women seeking ante-natal care in tertiary health Centres in the Mangalore city in South India. After Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) approval, data was collected by personal interview. Missing ≥2 doses consecutively was considered non-compliance. The data was analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) version 11.5.

Results: The mean age of the study population was 25.8 years (SD: 4.1). Majority of the subjects consumed mixed diet and 72.1% belonged to lower socioeconomic status. Overall, compliance with IFA tablets was 64.7%. Compliance increased with the increase in age, birth order and single daily dose. Forgetfulness and both perceived as well as experienced side effects of IFA therapy were the important factors for non-compliance.

Conclusion: There was a moderate level of Compliance towards IFA tablets with key social and demographic factors playing important role.

Keywords: compliance; demographic; folic acid; iron; social; tablets.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment on

References

    1. Iron deficiency anaemia assessment, prevention and control. [10-09-2012]. Available from URL http://www.who.int/vmnis/indicators/haemoglobin.pdf.
    1. Galloway R, Dusch E, Elder L, Achadi E, Grajeda R, Hurtado E, et al. Women's perceptions of iron deficiency and anaemia prevention and control in eight developing countries. [1-2-2013];Social science & medicine. 2002 Aug;55(4):529–544. 1982 [Internet] Available from URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12188461. - PubMed
    1. International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) and Macro International, author. National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), India, 2005–06: Karnataka. Mumbai: IIPS; 2008. p. 89. 2008.
    1. Galloway R, McGuire J. Determinants of compliance with iron supplementation: Supplies, side effects, or psychology? Social Science & Medicine. 1994;39:381–390. - PubMed
    1. Allen LH. Anaemia and iron deficiency: effects on pregnancy outcome. Am J Clin Nutr. 2000;71(suppl):1288S–1294S. - PubMed