Seema Imdad, Malik Shahid Shoukat, Muhammad Khalid.
Appraisal of the knowledge & practices about iodized salt amongst housewives in Toba Tek Singh city and the impact of socio economic factors on such knowledge and practices.
Pak J Med Health Sci Jan ;5(4):796-9.

Objective: To appraise the knowledge and practices about iodized salt amongst the housewives of city Toba Tek Singh and the impact of socio economic factors on such knowledge and practices –and- to determine the most appropriate method of mass campaign for iodized salt utilization. Study Design: It was descriptive community based study, which was conducted by employing systematic random sampling technique. Place and duration of study: The study was carried out in Union Council No.56 of Toba Tek Singh city during the month of May, 2008. Subjects and methods: The study population was all the house wives of city Toba Tek Singh who prepare food for their families. 96 households were selected by systematic random sampling technique out of a list of 2264 households in Union Council No.56. The latter Union Council was selected out of three Union Councils constituting Toba Tek Singh City by simple random sampling technique. Chi square test was employed to test the significance of results. P value < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Out of 96, 91% housewives knew about iodized salt & 09% were ignorant about the same. 36% housewives used iodized salt and 64% did not use it. Out of non users, 79% did not use it due to high cost, 11% due to change of taste and 06% due to the fear that it interferes with reproduction & its relation with diseases. 76% illiterate housewives and almost 100% educated ones knew about iodized salt. Only 10% of illiterate and 44% of educated ones were using iodized salt, whereas 36% of them were promoting its use. 27% respondents falling within family income group 10000 were using iodized salt. 85% housewives learnt about iodized salt through TV, 08% through healthcare providers, 06% through studies and 01% through newspaper. Conclusion: Majority of housewives of Toba Tek Singh city knew about iodized salt and its deficiency disorders. Its utilization was only 36%. This can be increased by enhancing socioeconomic conditions and improving information, education and communication methodologies, because these variables have positive impact on the knowledge about iodized salt and its utilization.

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