| dc.description.abstract | Background:
Iron and folate are micronutrients that are required in minute amounts for normal functioning, growth and development. Daily iron supplementation is recommended to all pregnant women as part of the antenatal care to reduce the risks of low birth weight, iron deficiency, maternal anaemia and NTDs which all are associated to poor intake of IFAS (WHO, 2012). However, studies showed disparities among countries in the compliance with IFAS from 18% in Combodia (CDHS, 2007) to 28% in Kenya (USAID, 2014).
Objective:
The overall objective of this study was to establish determinants of compliance with iron and folic acid supplementation among pregnant women in Al-Amin Nursing Home, Nairobi-Kenya.
Methodology:
A cross-sectional study design using structured and researcher-administered questionnaire was used to a sample size of 310 respondents and 10 Key Informants were interviewed using KIs Guide. The study employed both Simple Random Sampling and convenient methods; where the hospital was randomly selected among three hospitals and then the all ANC clients were interviewed after their permission. Also KIs were chosen conveniently.
Results:
The study showed that out of 310 respondents, 242 participants had ever received IFAS. Out of this, 100 (42.0%) of them were having a high compliance with the iron and folic acid supplements, whereas 142 (58.0%) were low compliant with the supplements. This shows that the majority of the respondents had taken the prescribed dose less than 5 days prior to their interviewed week. Factors including age, marital status, monthly household income, number of pregnancies, religion, ever heard maternal anaemia, experience about side effects, knowledge about the advantage of IFAS, experience about anaemia, and distance of the health centers from home and availability of IFAS were strongly associated with the compliance with IFAS.
Conclusion and recommendation:
The study showed that compliance with IFAS is far below the government of Kenya’s target. Basing on this, the researcher recommends to the MoH to: ensure consistent supply of IFAS to HCs; sensitize community members on the advantages of early health seeking behaviors such as IFA and train health workers on the Agent Concept in Health Care in order to improve the Provider-Client Relationship | en_US |
