Is Knowing Half the Battle? An Examination of the Relationship between Folic Acid Knowledge and Awareness and Daily Supplementation with Folic Acid among 18 to 24 year old Women Who are Not Contemplating Pregnancy

Katie P. Kilker Is Knowing Half the Battle? An Examination of the Relationship between Folic Acid Knowledge and Awareness and Daily Supplementation with Folic Acid among 18 to 24 year old Women Who are Not Contemplating Pregnancy (Under the direction of Russ Toal, Associate Professor) Neural tube defects (NTDs) are serious birth defects that affect 3,000 pregnancies in the United States annually. All women of childbearing age are recommended to consume 400 micrograms of folic acid daily for the prevention of NTDs. Women aged 18 to 24 years have multiple risk factors for having an NTD-affected pregnancy and should be targeted by efforts to promote folic acid consumption. Survey data capturing folic acid awareness, knowledge, and supplementation behavior of women aged 18 to 24 years who are not contemplating pregnancy were examined to identify the relationship of folic acid awareness and knowledge to daily supplementation with folic acid in an effort to predict the effectiveness of education-only interventions. Results of the study suggested that awareness and knowledge was not consistently related to daily supplementation. An evaluation of qualitative data using the Health Belief Model offers explanations for the findings and recommendations for targeting these at-risk women. INDEX WORDS: folic acid, birth defects prevention, neural tube defects, pregnancy, nutrition, health education, knowledge, awareness, young adult women, daily