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Mattew O. Oluleke, Akintayo O. Ogunwale, Oyedunni S. Arulogun, et al

2. Data AND Methods

2.1 Study Area
The study investigated dietary intake knowledge and reasons for food restriction during pregnancy
among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in Ile-Ife, Nigeria based on a cross-sectional sur-
vey. Ile-Ife is the headquarters of the ancient Ife Kingdom situated in the southwest of Nigeria stret-
ching over 200 km from the Niger River in the north to the borders of Benin in the west. It is be-
lieved to be the cradle of modern civilization and has a special place in the Yoruba culture. Major
religions in Ile-Ife are Christianity, Islam, and Traditional African Religion (TAR). Ile-Ife is
well-known for several TAR practices, doctrines, cultural beliefs, and festivals. Apart from the Yo-
ruba language, the native language and widely spoken in Ile-Ife, many residents of Ile-Ife, especially
the literate population, can communicate in English. Ile-Ife is made up of Ife Central LGA, Ife East
LGA, and Ife East Area Office Modakeke Ife. Ile-Ife has many government-owned and private edu-
cational institutions including Obafemi Awolowo University, one of the foremost and first-genera-
tion universities in Nigeria, and Ododuwa University (a private-owned university). Ile-Ife has a
teaching hospital named Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex with an arm as
Comprehensive Health Centre at Eleyele area of the town, a General Hospital at Oke-Ogbo, and
thirty-five primary health care (PHC) facilities in the LGAs. Ife Central LGA, Ife East, and Ife East
Area Office Modakeke Ife have 10, 15, and 10 primary health care facilities respectively. The study
was carried out at 35 PHC facilities in the three LGAs in Ile-Ife.

2.2 Study Population and Sample Size
The study population comprised of pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in the PHC facilities
in the three (Ife Central, Ife East, and Ife East Area Office) LGAs of Ile-Ife.
Records reviewed showed that there were 557 pregnant women attending antenatal clinics at
PHC centers in the three LGAs in Ile-Ife at the time the study was conducted. The study therefore
employed the use of total sampling so as to get optimal insight into the study, make wide coverage of
population of interest, and increase the chances of harvesting potential insight from all eligible res-
pondents. However, only 530 pregnant women who consented to participate in all the PHC facilities
in the local government areas of Ile-Ife were involved in the study.

2.3 Instrumentation
A semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The design of the questionnaire
was based on the research objectives and review of related literatures. The instrument was also
guided by relevant conceptual frameworks and benefited from the scrutiny and constructive criticism
of five experienced researchers in the fields of public health and nutrition. A pre-testing of the in-
strument was carried out among 59 pregnant women (10% of the study sample) attending the ante-
natal clinic at Okoko PHC in Ipetumodu, which shares similar characteristics with the study area.
This was necessary to determine length of time required to administer the questionnaire, check logi-
cal sequence of questions, and to ascertain whether the questions were clear and simple enough for
respondents to understand. The internal consistency of the instrument was evaluated with the use of
measures of Cronbach’s alpha coefficient technique with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences
(SPSS) that yielded a coefficient value of 0.6. Few revisions were made on the instrument before it
was finally used. Revisions made included use of simpler and local terms for food items and some
variables to improve respondents’ understanding of questions, the inclusion of some pertinent va-
riables such as respondents’ average monthly income as well as skipping mechanism in the ques-
tionnaire.
The pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire captured respondents’ socio-demographic characte-

International Journal of Population Studies | 2016, Volume 2, Issue 1 105