Title

Alaska Folic Acid Awareness Survey

Geographic Area Covered

Alaska Statewide

Contact Information

(name, mailing address, phone, and e-mail address)

Fauna Hubble
Alaska Department of Health & Social Services
Section of Epidemiology, Maternal and Child Health Unit
3601 C Street, Suite 424
PO Box 240249
Anchorage, AK  99524-0249
Phone: (907) 269-8068
E-mail: fauna_hubble@health.state.ak.us

Sample Size

n=383 women, aged 18-44 years

General Description

(target population, frequency of administration, years covered, data collection methods, reason for data collection)

In September 1999, prior to the initiation of a planned folic acid campaign, a statewide telephone survey was conducted to gather baseline information about the knowledge and use of folic acid among women of childbearing age.

Three hundred and eighty-three women were surveyed, enabling us to generalize the results to Alaskan women, aged 18-44 years, with a margin of error of +/- 5%.

Cost

$4,500.00

Questions Included

(most current, changes over time, state specific changes)

The survey was created using exact or similar questions from two national surveys: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS) and the National March of Dimes’ Folic Acid Survey. 

Should you wish to obtain a copy of the Alaska Folic Acid Awareness Survey, please contact Fauna Hubble directly.

Uses of Data

Information on this survey is available through publications of the Alaska Maternal and Child Health Unit and through publications of the Alaska Folic Acid Commission and the Alaska March of Dimes. Data will also be utilized to further plan and evaluate activities of the Alaska Folic Acid Campaign.

Results/Summary

(including published articles)

The analysis presented below show the overall percentage of women who take vitamins, know their vitamin contains folic acid, and have general knowledge about folic acid.

Of all the women surveyed (n=383 women, aged 18–44 years):

63%    Take Vitamins or Supplements
41%    Take Vitamins or Supplements that Contain Folic Acid
74%    Heard of Folic Acid
24%    Know Folic Acid Prevents Birth Defects
88%    Know Best Time to Take Folic Acid

In addition to single question analysis, we looked at whether women who knew the benefits or have heard of folic acid were taking vitamins containing folic acid.  The results presented here indicate a need for informational campaigns aimed at increasing both knowledge and behavior.

Among women who know that folic acid prevents birth defects (n=92), 51% (n=47) take a vitamin supplement that contains Folic Acid.

Among women who know that Folic Acid prevents birth defects (n=92), information about Folic Acid came from the following sources:

     74% (n=67) from publications (i.e., magazines, newspapers, books)
     60% (n=55) from a health care professional
     48% (n= 44) from media (i.e., radio, television)

Among women who have heard of Folic Acid (n=285), 29% (n=82) know that Folic Acid prevents birth defects.

Web site address (if available)

Comments

(limitations, lessons learned)

Lessons Learned:  Though the majority of questions for the Alaska Folic Acid Awareness Survey were identical to those from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey and the National March of Dimes’ Folic Acid Survey, several questions were altered to be “multiple choice” instead of “open-ended”.  We believe that responses to these altered questions may have been influenced by the multiple choice options, and therefore, are not directly comparable to the national survey results or BRFSS findings.