Impact of Telephonic Reminders on Compliance with Iron–Folic Acid Supplementation among Pregnant Women at a Tertiary Care Institute in Ahmedabad, Gujarat: A Quasi-experimental Study
Background: In India, around half of the pregnant women are suffering from anemia. Despite increasing coverage of iron–folic acid (IFA) supplementation, regular intake of IFA supplements is lacking among antenatal women in India. Various reasons behind poor compliance are forgetfulness, fear of side effects of IFA tablets, insufficient counseling, etc.
Objective: The primary objective was to evaluate the difference in the compliance to IFA supplementation among the study group (who have received the telephonic reminder) with the control group (who did not receive the telephonic reminder). Secondary objectives were to assess the predictors of compliance to IFA supplementation and reasons behind poor compliance to IFA tablets among study participants.
Materials and methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted among a total of 300 pregnant women. Out of them, 150 were from the study group, who received the telephonic reminder on weekly basis, while 150 pregnant women belonged to the control group, who did not receive the telephonic reminder. Pregnant women were inquired about the number of tablets remaining with them for evaluating the compliance. Compliance was considered good if a woman has consumed all the prescribed doses of the IFA tablet. At the time of follow-up visits, women with poor compliance were asked for reasons behind the same.
Results: The mean age of participants was 26.9 ± 4.3 years and 26.9 ± 3.6 years in the study group and control group, respectively. Among the study, 64 (42.7%) and 70 (46.7%) participants were primigravida in the study and control groups, respectively. At the end of 2 months, good compliance to IFA supplementation was 53% and 30% in the study and control groups, respectively. The difference was significant statistical (p-value < 0.001). The most common reasons behind poor compliance among the control group were forgetfulness (31.9%) and side effects of the treatment (28.6%).
Conclusion: Compliance was significantly higher among the study group, who received weekly telephonic reminders. The factors determining the compliance were knowledge about complication of anemia, number of iron tablets prescribed, social class, and the type of family.
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