Abstract
Iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation is one of the most cost-effective interventions to prevent and treat anemia during pregnancy. Despite having the highest global burden of anemia among pregnant women, rates of IFA uptake in pregnancy in India are still very low, particularly in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Timeline maps were developed as a visual qualitative tool to explore the nuances of health behaviors among pregnant women with respect to antenatal care (ANC) services, including IFA consumption. Timeline maps were used to elicit and visually document critical events pertaining to ANC services chronologically, including details on contact points with the health system and events specific to IFA distribution, consumption and counselling. The tool consists of a horizontal straight line with nine suspended boxes corresponding to each month of pregnancy, with legends on how to illustrate IFA receipt and consumption. In this instance, the woman's last menstrual period and expected date of delivery were used as a frame of reference for the duration of pregnancy. Six research assistants (RAs) were trained on how to use timeline maps to elicit and record participant narratives. The RAs later participated in a focus group discussion to gain insight about their experiences using the tool. The timeline maps were easy-to-use and facilitated in-depth conversations with participants. RAs were able to actively engage the participants in co-creating the maps. The visual nature of the tool prompted participants' recall of key pregnancy events and reflexivity. Challenges reported with the tool/process included recollection of past events and potential misrepresentation of information. These highlight a need to restructure training processes. Our findings indicate that timeline maps have the potential to be used in a variety of other program contexts, and merit further exploration.
Highlights
As part of the broader study, in August 2018, in-depth interviews were conducted with fifteen pregnant women in their ninth month of pregnancy in Behta block of Sitapur district in Uttar Pradesh (UP) to understand the nuances around Iron and folic acid (IFA) consumption during pregnancy
Questions included time of registration of pregnancy, antenatal care (ANC) services received, IFA/anemia counselling received, number of IFA tablets received during each ANC visit, and patterns in IFA consumption
Focus Group Discussion with research assistants (RAs) to assess their experience with timeline maps The findings from the focus group discussion with the RAs are presented under the following categories: 1) aspects of the tool that facilitated data organization; 2) how the tool facilitated a more in-depth understanding of a woman’s pregnancy experiences; and 3) challenges faced while using the tool
Summary
The authors might want to consider the skill level needed to conduct high quality interviews and how this tool might provide the structure that a discussion guide might lack for a less experienced staff. Another good point to make is that participatory methods support data collection through reflexivity and empower participants
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