Interpersonal communication campaign promoting knowledge, attitude, intention, and consumption of iron folic acid tablets and iron rich foods among pregnant Indonesian women.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Indonesia's community health delivery system offers services such as prenatal care and supplementation. Despite accessibility to these services, compliance with supplementation is low, and childhood stunting rates remain high. To address undernutrition, a National Nutrition Communication Campaign (NNCC) - using interpersonal communication (IPC) strategies - was implemented to promote consumption of iron-folic acid (IFA) supplements and iron-rich foods (ATIKA). The purpose of this study was to understand how participation in IPC activities influenced knowledge, attitude/intention, and consumption of IFA supplements and ATIKA among pregnant Indonesian women.

METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional data came from 766 pregnant women that participated in a survey that was based on the constructs from the Theory of Planned Behavior and Health Belief Model. Adjusted linear and logistic regression models were conducted to analyze the differences between self-reported IPC participants and non-IPC participants. Approximately 20% of women were exposed to the IFA portion of the IPC campaign, and 18% were exposed to the ATIKA portion.

RESULTS: Women that were exposed to the campaign reported significantly higher knowledge of IFA tablets and ATIKA, and improved attitudes/intentions towards IFA, compared to non-exposed women. Exposure was not associated with actual consumption behaviors.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that exposure to a low-intensity intervention can increase knowledge but may not be sufficient to impact behavior. As such, future efforts to reduce stunting through improved maternal nutrition should seek to increase exposure, address barriers, understand perceived susceptibility, and improve self-efficacy in order to expand intervention reach in Indonesia.