Prevalence and knowledge of anemia among pregnant women enrolled in Women, Infants and Children supplemental food program
ISSN: 0034-6659
Article publication date: 10 October 2018
Issue publication date: 23 October 2018
Abstract
Purpose
Although anemia during pregnancy is common in the USA, socio-demographic factors make pregnant women enrolled in Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program more vulnerable than the general population. The purpose of this study was to examine the socio-demographic characteristics, blood hemoglobin concentrations, nutrition knowledge and potential associations among these factors in a sample of pregnant women participating in the WIC program.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional study using survey methodology was conducted. In total, 60 pregnant women who were between 12 and 24 weeks of gestation and were carrying a single fetus were recruited from two WIC clinics. Overall nutrition knowledge was assessed with 42 questions arranged into three subscales. Participants’ scores were transformed into tertiles. WIC program records were used to record blood hemoglobin values. Principal component analysis was used to validate the knowledge subscales. Correlational and multivariate regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship among variables.
Findings
Prevalence of anemia among the participants was higher than the national averages. Only 10 per cent of participants scored in the high tertile for nutrition knowledge. Anemia-during-pregnancy knowledge score was positively correlated with blood hemoglobin concentrations (r = 0.23, p < 0.05), and it was also a predictor of blood hemoglobin levels (R2 = 0.364, p = 0.02).
Originality/value
This is the first study to report on the knowledge of anemia, anemia during pregnancy and preventive measures among pregnant women enrolled in the WIC program.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research was funded by the Eulalia Toms Faculty Research Fund of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences at Western Michigan University. No external funding was received or used to complete this research.
The authors are grateful for the assistance provided by the staff of the Kalamazoo and Portage Family Health Center WIC offices with participant recruitment.
Citation
Zhang, Q., Rojhani, A., Gulló-Rivera, A. and Kwak, S. (2018), "Prevalence and knowledge of anemia among pregnant women enrolled in Women, Infants and Children supplemental food program", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 48 No. 6, pp. 990-1002. https://doi.org/10.1108/NFS-03-2018-0097
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited