Effect of nursing intervention on women's knowledge about folic acid intake

Background: Folic acid deficiency has been implicated in a wide variety of fetal congenital anomalies. The study aimed: To investigate the effect of nursing intervention on knowledge about folic acid intake among women at reproductive age through designing, implementing and evaluating educational program about folic acid. Subjects and methods: A quasi-experimental design was used. The study was conducted at 8MCHcenters at Menoufia governorate- Egypt. Multi stage random sample of 400 women was included. A Structured interview questionnaire was used to collect data. Results: 42.5% of women had age ranged from 25 – 34 years old, 40.5% of them had secondary level of education where as 28 % of them had university educational level. A statistically significant difference was found in the level of women knowledge about folic acid before and after implementation of nursing intervention. Conclusion: Increase level of women knowledge about folic acid after nursing intervention which accomplished through designing, implementing and evaluating educational program about folic acid than before nursing intervention. Recommendation: Effective intervention programs to improve periconceptional intake of folic acid among women at reproductive age are needed in maternal and child health centers.