ReviewJournal of public health (Oxford, England)2012
Factors contributing to the success of folic acid public health campaigns.
Review in Journal of public health (Oxford, England), 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 59 citations in OpenAlex.
- The folate status of reproductive-aged women in a randomised trial of a folate-fortified oral contraceptive: dietary and blood assessments.Public health nutrition · 2014Trial
- The critical gap in prevention: knowledge of periconception folic acid supplementation and its predictors among pregnant women in Ethiopia.Maternal health, neonatology and perinatology · 2026Article
- Preconception care knowledge, attitudes, and practices among women attending a private women's hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in global women's health · 2026Article
- Nutrition Knowledge Varies by Food Group and Nutrient Among Adults.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Article
- National strategies for screening neural tube defects in Saudi Arabia: activating prevention and early intervention.Frontiers in public health · 2025Review
- The relationship between the maternal consumption of barberry, saffron, pickled vegetables, and tea and the odds of congenital anomalies in Iranian children under 10 years of age: A case-control study.Journal of education and health promotion · 2025Article
- Knowledge, awareness, and use of folic acid among women of childbearing age living in a peri-urban community in Ghana: a cross-sectional survey.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- A survey on women's awareness of iron and folic acid intake during preconception period and its associated factors in Manna District, Oromia region, Southwest Ethiopia.Nursing open · 2022Article
- Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Health Message Generation: The Folic Acid Message Engine.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Article
- A review of current knowledge about the importance of iodine among women of child-bearing age and healthcare professionals.Journal of nutritional science · 2022Review
- Preconception of folic acid supplementation knowledge among Ethiopian women reproductive age group in areas with high burden of neural tube defects: a community based cross-sectional study.Journal of nutritional science · 2022Article
- Knowledge of Neural Tube Defects and Prevention Through Folic Acid Use Among Women in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Survey.International journal of women's health · 2022Article
- Effects of preconception care and periconception interventions on maternal nutritional status and birth outcomes in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review.Campbell systematic reviews · 2021Review
- Adherence to Iron-Folic Acid Supplementation and Associated Factors among Pregnant Women in Kasulu Communities in North-Western Tanzania.International journal of reproductive medicine · 2020Article
- Awareness and Use of Folic Acid among Women of Childbearing Age.Annals of global health · 2019Article
- Determinants of Compliance With Iron and Folate Supplementation Among Pregnant Women in West Iran: A Population Based Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of family & reproductive health · 2018Article
- Folate supplementation to prevent birth abnormalities: evaluating a community-based participatory action plan for refugees and migrant workers on the Thailand-Myanmar border.Public health · 2018Article
- Awareness, knowledge, and use of folic acid among non-pregnant Korean women of childbearing age.Nutrition research and practice · 2018Article
- Socioeconomic inequality in periconceptional folic acid supplementation in China: a census of 0.9 million women in their first trimester of pregnancy.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundStudies in the 1990s have found that periconceptional dietary folate, supplementation of folic acid or supplemental multivitamins containing folic acid, help prevent neural tube defect (NTDs) if taken at the right time. This literature review assesses the extant folic acid public health campaigns literature and identifies some common variables used in folic acid consumption campaign evaluations.
methodsThis review was part of a larger study that searched PUBMED, PsycINFO and Embase from 1976 to 2010 to identify articles related to the psychosocial and economic impact of NTDs (especially spina bifida) on patients and caregivers.
resultsAwareness of folic acid levels prior to conception improved post-campaign from 6 to 41%. Knowledge about consumption and correct periconceptional use of folic acid also improved. However, in most studies more than 50% of women did not take folic acid as prescribed. Many factors were associated with or without taking folic acid post-campaign, including incomplete outreach, prior awareness and knowledge, closeness to pregnancy, demographics and other personal characteristics.
conclusionsSustained campaigning to maintain awareness about and promote periconceptional consumption of folic acid in order to reduce the incidence of NTDs is clearly needed. Additional initiatives could complement existing public health strategies.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.