Factors Influencing Compliance with Iron Supplements Intake among Pregnant Women in the Garu-Tempane District of the Upper East Region

Abstract

Introduction: Anaemia is a global public health problem that affects both poor and rich countries. Males, females are affected and particularly pregnant women. Iron supplementation is one of the key interventions used to control anaemia in pregnancy. However, compliance with the intake of the supplements is a key factor in controlling anaemia. This study sought to explore the factors that affect compliance. Methodology: Community-based cross-sectional study design was used to inform this study. It covered 355 pregnant women aged 15-45 years randomly sampled from ANC attendees in eight out of the nine sub-districts in the Garu-Tempane district of the Upper East Region. Quantitative data was analyzed using STATA version 15. Bivariate and multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the association between the independent variables and the outcome variable. Results: The study found that two iron supplements are used in the district: Iron Folic Acid (IFA) and Ferrous Sulphate (FS). 64.51 percent of the pregnant women were anaemic. Compliance with IFA was 66.2 percent and 65.63 percent with respect to FS. The factors that were associated with compliance included; religion, household size, gravida, ANC attendance, side effect, counselling and anaemia Conclusion: This study indicated that the prevalence of anaemia among pregnant women is high, suggesting more work needs to be done to reduce it to acceptable limits. Also, compliance with the intake of iron supplements was found to be moderately high among pregnant women aged 15-45 years. Predictors of compliance could be exploited to address the high prevalence of anaemia.