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Increasing Folic Acid Self-Efficacy in College-Age Women of Childbearing Age
Get PDFPreventative measures taken by women of childbearing age before and during conception limit the risk of fetal defects or complications. One specific measure that is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is that all women of childbearing age take folic acid 400 mcg daily. Evidence-based research suggests that taking 400 mcg daily limits the risk of fetal neural tube defects if taken daily and started at least two months before conception. Fetal neural tube defects are classified as defects that damage the baby’s spine and brain. The researcher conducted an evidence-based practice project that sought to determine if an educational session regarding folic acid indications and use increased the self-efficacy of college-age women of childbearing age to use folic acid. The evidence-based project was conducted as a quasi-experimental study and involved undergraduate nursing students at a local community college in West Texas who had completed semester one to three of their program. Leaders of the nursing program agreed that their nursing students would benefit from folic acid education so they could then educate patients on it as well. Keywords: folic acid, neural tube defects, self-efficacy scale, Pender’s health promotion theory, college-age women, folic acid awarenes
