Research Article
Adherence to Iron-Folate Supplementation and Associated
Factors among Pastoralist’s Pregnant Women in Burji Districts,
Segen Area People’s Zone, Southern Ethiopia: Community-Based
Cross-Sectional Study
Negussie Boti ,
1
Tezera Bekele,
1
Wanzahun Godana ,
1
Eskeziyaw Getahun ,
1
Feleke Gebremeskel ,
1
Behailu Tsegaye,
2
and Bilcha Oumer
3
1
Department of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia
2
Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia
3
Department of Midwifery, College of Health Sciences, Arba Minch, Ethiopia
Correspondence should be addressed to Negussie Boti; kahlidboti@gmail.com
Received 15 October 2018; Accepted 19 December 2018; Published 31 December 2018
Academic Editor: Stefania A. Nottola
Copyright © 2018 Negussie Boti et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Background. Iron defciency anemia among pregnant women is one of the most common public health problems in developing
country particularly in Ethiopia. Iron/folic acid supplementation with optimal adherence is the main cost-efective strategy
for prevention and control of iron defciency anemia in pregnant women. However, level of adherence to iron/folic acid
supplementation and its associated factors were not well identifed in study area. Terefore, the aim of this study was to determine
the level of adherence to iron/folic acid supplementation and associated factors among pregnant women in Burji Districts,
southern Ethiopia. Methods. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 317 pregnant women in Burji
Districts from March to April 2017 using interviewer administered questionnaires. Data were entered into Epi Info 3.5.1 and
exported to SPSS version 20.0 for analysis. Binary and multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors associated
with iron/folic acid supplementation. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confdence interval (CI) and p-value <0.05 were used
to declare statistical signifcance. Results. Among women participating in the study, 163(51.4%) were adherent to iron/folate acid
supplementation. Factors signifcantly associated with adherence to iron and folic acid supplementation were maternal educational
status (AOR: 2.47, 95% CI: 1.13-4.97), early registration for ANC (AOR: 2.49, 95% CI: 1.45 – 4.27), history of anemia during current
pregnancy (AOR: 2.02, 95% CI: 1.09-3.72), and knowledge about iron and folic acid supplementation (AOR: 1.96, 95% CI: 1.02-
3.76). Forgetfulness and fear of side efects were among the leading reasons of pregnant women for nonadherence to iron and folic
acid supplementation. Conclusions. Tis study revealed that adherence to iron /folic acid supplementation was found to be 51.4%.
Maternal educational status, early registration for ANC, history of anemia during current pregnancy, and knowledge about iron and
folic acid supplementation were signifcant factors associated with adherence to iron/folic acid supplementation among pastoralist’s
pregnant women. Terefore, anemia prevention strategy should include strengthening giving awareness, counseling, strengthening
community health education, and participation in health programs which are necessary to improve the uptake of iron/folic acid
supplements.
1. Introduction
Anemia is a global public health problem afecting two billion
people worldwide [1]. Te primary cause of anemia is iron
defciency, a condition caused by inadequate intake or low
absorption of iron, the increased demands during pregnancy,
and loss of iron through menstruation [1–3].
Pregnant women are the most prone groups for IDA
[4, 5]. During pregnancy, physiological iron requirements are
the highest and the amount of iron absorbed from the diet is
not sufcient to meet requirements during pregnancy [6, 7].
However, plasma expansion being increased in the second
trimesters, the dietary intake of the two elements cannot
Hindawi
International Journal of Reproductive Medicine
Volume 2018, Article ID 2365362, 8 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/2365362