| Title |
Folic acid awareness and use in Puerto Rico |
| Geographic Area Covered |
Five representative geographical areas of the Island |
|
Contact Information
(name, mailing address, phone, and e-mail address)
|
Diana Valencia
BDSS Department of Health
PO Box 70184
San Juan PR 00936-8184
Telephone: 787 274 5671
E-mail: dvalencia@salud.gov.pr
|
|
Sample Size
|
n=725 (2003) |
|
General Description
(target population, frequency of administration, years covered, data collection methods, reason for data collection)
|
Women ages 18- 36+ ; stratified random sample by geographic area based on the 2000 US Census information
Data collection: house to house personal interview.
Survey questions in Spanish
Evaluate folic acid campaign, identified barriers for taking the vitamin; redesign campaign based on results. The survey will be repeated in 2006
|
| Cost |
$ 28,000 |
|
Questions Included
(most current, changes over time, state specific changes)
|
Demographic data
Perception of health
Nutritional habits
Vitamin consumption
Folic acid awareness/consumption
Folic acid campaign Folic acid information
|
| Uses of Data |
Evaluate folic acid campaign
Design and develop new campaign strategies based on results Presentation of data to public and health care professionals
|
|
Results/Summary
(including published articles)
|
Report to the Department of Health 37 pages NBDPN 2004 and 2006 poster
|
|
Web site address (if available)
|
www.salud.gov.pr |
|
Comments
(limitations, lessons learned)
|
There is definitely a need to continue stressing the importance of the intake of folic acid in the general pubic. The main misconceptions for not taking the vitamin are that it is only for pregnant women, and that folic acid is not a necessary daily supplement. Also many participants were not aware that folic acid is usually part of a multivitamin
Female perceptions of good health should be included in our folic acid messages. To be more effective we should emphasize campaigns regarding the
|
