There were factors that are particularly associated with lower rates of use of folic acid supplements .
One of the most important of these is the link with unintended pregnancy , followed by age , socio-economic and ethnic group .
Integrated campaigns can increase the use of folic acid supplements to some extent .
Research trials indicated that : ( i ) printed re sources and the mass media used in isolation are not effective in the longer term ; and ( ii ) health-care-based initiatives can be effective and are more likely to be successful if they include making supplements easily available .
Campaigns and interventions have the potential to exacerbate socio-economic inequalities in folic acid use .
However , even high- quality campaigns that increase use result in under half of women in the target group taking supplements
OBJECTIVE To provide a basis for making recommendations on the potential to improve use of folic acid supplements in the UK , particularly among low-income and young women .
The impact of a preconceptional health promotion program on intendedness of pregnancy.
The objective for this study was to determine whether a brief preconceptional health promotion program for low-income women attending family planning clinics impacts on intendedness of pregnancy . In this prospect i ve study , we examined data on 1378 women presenting for prenatal care at three local health departments . Each of the departments offers a st and ardized preconceptional health promotion program in its family planning clinics . Comparisons were undertaken for 456 women who had been exposed to the family planning preconception program , 309 women who had attended the family planning clinics but had not been exposed to the program , and 613 women who were unknown to the health department before beginning prenatal care . Women exposed to information on preconceptional health during routine family planning visits , the experimental group , had a 51.8 % ( p = 0.064 ) greater likelihood of identifying their pregnancies at intended than a group known to the local health departments ' family planning programs but unexposed to the intervention . Furthermore , the experimental group had a 64.2 % ( p = 0.0009 ) greater likelihood of intendedness than a comparison group not known to the health departments before the initiation of prenatal care . Our study indicates that an introductory program of preconceptional health promotion which is targeted to women not planning a pregnancy in the immediate future is associated with a higher rate of intendedness in subsequent pregnancies . Expansion of similar preconceptional programs in family planning clinics may prove a useful approach for promoting intendedness of pregnancy in low-income women
There were factors that are particularly associated with lower rates of use of folic acid supplements .
One of the most important of these is the link with unintended pregnancy , followed by age , socio-economic and ethnic group .
Integrated campaigns can increase the use of folic acid supplements to some extent .
Research trials indicated that : ( i ) printed re sources and the mass media used in isolation are not effective in the longer term ; and ( ii ) health-care-based initiatives can be effective and are more likely to be successful if they include making supplements easily available .
Campaigns and interventions have the potential to exacerbate socio-economic inequalities in folic acid use .
However , even high- quality campaigns that increase use result in under half of women in the target group taking supplements
OBJECTIVE To provide a basis for making recommendations on the potential to improve use of folic acid supplements in the UK , particularly among low-income and young women .