A Study to Assess The Knowledge on Anemia and Adherence to Iron Folate Supplementation among Antenatal Women at a Selected Hospital in Chennai

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the knowledge on anaemia among antenatal women. To determine the adherence to iron folate supplementation among antenatal women. To identify the relationship between knowledge onanaemia and adherence to iron folate supplementation and to determine the association between knowledge and adherence with the selected background variables of antenatal women. Research Design: A descriptive cross sectional study design was used for this study. Methods: The target population of the study was antenatal women who completed 32 weeks of gestation and accessible population was antenatal women attending the outpatient department, SRH. The purposive sampling technique was used to select 240 antenatal women for the study. The instruments used for the study were standardized Morisky Medication Adherence Scale to determine the adherence to iron folate supplementation among antenatal women. In addition the investigator developed a structured questionnaire to collect data regarding background variables of the antenatal women and to assess the knowledge on anaemia among antenatal women. Interview technique was used to collect data from the antenatal women. Descriptive and inferential statistics (ANOVA, independent t’ test, correlation co-efficient, and multivariable logistic regression) were used to summarize the data. The 0.05 level of significance was used.xiii Major findings: 47.89% (113) of antenatal women had inadequate knowledge and 52.11% of antenatal women had moderately adequate knowledge. None of them had adequate knowledge on anemia. Most (63.1%) of the antenatal women had moderately adequate knowledge in the aspect of nature of the disease. In the aspect of investigation and treatment, half of the antenatal women (55.1%) had moderately adequate knowledge. In the area of prevention control and complications, 79.7% of antenatal women had inadequate knowledge. Nearly half of them (48.8%) had poor adherence to iron folate supplementation, 39.4% of them had fair adherence, only few (11.8%) had good adherence. The reasons for non adherence were: forgot to take pills (83.9%); frustration (48.7%); taste difference (45.8%); experience of side effects (27.5%). There was a statistically significant association between the knowledge on anemia and the demographic variables such as age, education and monthly family income (p< .01, p< .001). There was a statistically significant association between the adherence and maternal variable of the antenatal women such as hemoglobin level during the first trimester, after completion of 32 weeks of gestation and percentage of procurement of iron tablets (p