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Abstract
Objective: This study aims to explore whether adherence to taking iron supplementation is associated with health beliefs as measured by the Foetal Health Locus of Control (FHLC). Background: Anaemia in pregnancy is major health problem in Indonesia. Non-adherence to iron supplement intake has been one factor that hindered the effectiveness of an iron supplementation in reducing anaemia during pregnancy. Insufficient attention has been given to why such a phenomenon occurs. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in South Kuta, Bali, Indonesia. Pregnant women were invited to complete a self-administered questionnaire comprising questions on the frequency of taking iron supplement in addition to the FHLC scale. Results: This study was among the first using the FHLC scale in a non-English-speaking background country. Of the 360 pregnant women invited to participate, 299 returned completed questionnaires. Conclusion: Using the FHLC scale we learned that Internal and Chance scales were associated with supplementation adherence. It is recommended that health counselling be introduced to improve iron supplementation adherence among pregnant women in Bali taking into consideration these predictors of adherence.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the pregnant women who participated in this study, and Community Healthcare Centre of South Kuta, Bali. We would also like to acknowledge Ms Sally Nathan and thank her for her assistance and comments on this study. Thanks to Van Ngu Yen who strengthened the statistical and SPSS expertise to manage the quantitative data. This study was conducted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Public Health at the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, the University of New South Wales and supported by Australian Development Scholarship kindly provided by the Government of Australia.