ABSTRACT
Objective To understand the status of perinatal folic acid intake by childbearing-aged women in Shaanxi Province and analyze the influencing factors so as to provide data support for current policy adjustment.Methods We sampled in 10 cities of Shaanxi and Yangling Demonstration area,and chose women who had been pregnant in the past 3 years or were pregnant at the time of the survey to answer questionnaires.The unconditional logistic regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors.Results At the whole provincial level,the intake rate of folic acid was 84.1％.The intake rate of folic acid varied significantly among different regions,being 88.9％ in southern Shaanxi,85.7％ in Guanzhong area,and 88.9％ in northern Shaanxi (x2=24.011,P＜0.001).It also significantly differed between urban and rural areas (89.5％ vs.80.6％,x2=19.974,P ＜ 0.001).The intake rate of folic acid was different significantly among different age groups,too,being lower in the old-age group than in the young-age group (x2 =13.637,P=0.003).The rate of free access to folic acid and duration of folic acid intake also significantly differed among urban and rural areas,different regions and different age groups (P ＜ 0.05).By using logistic regression model we found that the childbearing-aged women's knowlage of folic acid was the most important influencing factors besides urban/rural area,region,age and education level.Among these factors the odds ratio of awareness intake of folic acid during perinatal period was 14.13 (95％ CI:6.16-32.44),the odds ratio of knowing that folic acid can prevent neural-tube defects was 2.71 (95％ CI:1.43-5.14) and odds ratio of knowing the policy of free distribution of folic acid supplements was 2.88 (95％ CI:1.52-5.47).Conclusion The rate of folic acid intake among childbearing-aged women in Shaanxi Province is relatively high,but the duration of folic acid intake is still short.The understanding about folic acid is an important factor which affects the use of folic acid.Improving the cognitive level of folic acid among childbearing-aged women is the most useful way to enhance the effective prevention of neural tube defects.
ABSTRACT
It was well received that well grounded behavioral theories were important in the development of effective nutrition education programs, but there are only a few programs available for Korean women. The objective of this study was to develop nutrition education programs for childbearing-aged women in Korea. Based on the findings of the needs assessment for the program and theoretical backgrounds, we developed behaviorally oriented tailored nutrition education program including motivation (MT), modifying (MD) and maintenance (MA) stages. The key concepts of the stages were motivation promotion for MT, increasing behavioral capabilities for MD, and strengthening self-management and building favorable environmental condition for MA. The education program was intended to be need in individual nutrition counseling, but it could be well used for group education by developing materials using the relevant contents. The primary users of the program were nutrition educators, however it could be also used by clients as needed. The introductory chapter provided dietary assessment tools and nutrition education tips. MT chapter included subjects such as nutritional status screening, costs of inappropriate nutrition and weight management, benefits of eating right, and activities for motivation promotion. MD stage chapter dealt with topics of healthy weight, knowledges and skills for better eating habits and physical activity status, and activities related to setting tailored behavioral objectives. MA stage focused on facilitating self management skills and building helping relationships. Each stage underlined activities using various educational tools in order to promote active participation of the client (s). For better use of this program, it was recommended to conduct program validation study.