Knowledge and practices of people in Bia District, Ghana, with regard to iodine deficiency disorders and intake of iodized salt

This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. It was conducted among a total of 280 household members, mainly in charge of meal preparation, who were interviewed using a structured interview guide. A combination of cluster and simple random sampling techniques was used to select the respondents from all the seven sub- districts in Bia District.The study revealed that 75.6% of households in the district consumed iodized salt (including households described as occasional users of iodized salt), and knowledge of iodized salt was quite high, as 72% of the respondents knew that not every salt contained iodine. In addition, 69.3% indicated that an inadequate intake of iodized salt can lead to the development of goitre. Despite the high awareness level, only 64.6% of respondents indicated that they exclusively used iodized salt for cooking. The main reason given by exclusive users of common salt was that the price of iodized salt is a little higher than that of common salt.Although majority of the respondents are aware of the importance of iodized salt and iodine deficiency disorders, only 64.6% exclusively used iodized salt, suggesting that respondents' high knowledge levels did not necessarily translate into an increase in the number of households who used iodized salt. Existing laws and policies on universal salt iodization and quality assurance of iodized salt from the production stage to the distribution/selling stage should be enforced.Iodine-deficiency disorders (IDDs) are some of the public health problems that confront 118 countries worldwide, and approximately 1.5 billion people are at risk of preventable IDDs [1-3]. The vulnerable groups particularly at risk include pregnant women, infants and children. In some cases, the developing foetus is affected in the womb [3-5]. Iodine is required to synthesize thyroid hormones which control the body's metabolic rate, and its deficiency results in problems such as abortions, stillbirths, congenital abnormalities, cretini