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Title: KNOWLEDGE AND USE OF FOLIC ACID AMONG WOMEN IN THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA

Author
item ROBBINS, JAMES - ACHRI
item HOPKINS, SARAH - UNIV ARKANSAS MED SCIENCE
item MOSLEY, BRIDGET - UNIV ARKANSAS MED SCIENCE
item CASEY, PATRICK - ACHRI
item CLEVES, MARIO - UNIV ARKANSAS MED SCIENCE
item HOBBS, CHARLOTTE - UNIV ARKANSAS MED SCIENCE

Submitted to: Journal of Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/14/2003
Publication Date: 4/11/2003
Citation: ROBBINS, J.M., HOPKINS, S.E., MOSLEY, B.S., CASEY, P.H., CLEVES, M.A., HOBBS, C.A. KNOWLEDGE AND USE OF FOLIC ACID AMONG WOMEN IN THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA. JOURNAL OF FEDERATION OF AMERICAN SOCIETIES FOR EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY. 2003. v. 17(4). p. A806.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Efforts to increase folic acid knowledge and use may not be reaching large segments of the population. This study examines folic acid knowledge and use among women of childbearing age in a representative, low income, rural sample. A random digit dialing telephone survey was conducted with 646 women ages 14-45 in 36 counties of the Lower Mississippi River Delta. Folic acid knowledge and use were estimated by weighted percentages. Compared to national samples, Delta women were less likely to have heard of folic acid (75% vs. 64%) or to take a daily folic acid supplement (34% vs. 22%). Knowledge of folic acid was particularly low among some subgroups: African-American (50%), low income (40%), and low educational levels (34%). Similarly, daily intake of folic acid was very low among some Delta women: African-American (14%), 14 to 19 years of age (12%), low income (13%), and low educational levels (14%). The ability to become pregnant more than doubled their likelihood of daily supplement use. A new mode of intervention is needed that is personal, focused on low income and young women and women who are not planning pregnancies. Due to the difficulty of changing behavior, fortification of grains with greater amounts of folic acid should also be considered. Supported by Center for Disease Control grant U50/CCU613236, ARS/USDA project #6251-53000-003-00D, and Arkansas Chapter of the March of Dimes.