Soon Lean Keng
Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
Title: Public views about preconception use of folic acid for birth defect prevention
Biography
Biography: Soon Lean Keng
Abstract
Preconception use of folic acid is known to significantly reduce the risk of having a child with birth defects. Unfortunately, there are scarce data on the general public views about the importance of preconception folic acid use for birth defect prevention. The study aimed to explore the public views about preconception use of folic acid for birth defect prevention using a qualitative approach. Twenty-two public aged 18 years and above from a community market in northeast coast Peninsular Malaysia were recruited using semistructured interviews, which were audio-recorded, transcribed and subject to thematic analysis. The themes emerged were “partial information”, “lack of communication” and “acceptance”. Partial information was reasons given for the dearth of knowledge about the benefits of preconception folic acid intake for birth defect prevention. Lack of communication were drawbacks contributing to barriers which hindered the knowledge of the public. The magnitude of having a baby born with birth defects was publics’ expression of acceptance to be God’s will. We suggest that these views about preconception use of folic acid for birth defect prevention form a need for patient education and health promotion.