International Journal of

ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES

EISSN: 2313-3724, Print ISSN: 2313-626X

Frequency: 12
line decor
  
line decor

 Volume 10, Issue 5 (May 2023), Pages: 203-210

----------------------------------------------

 Original Research Paper

Knowledge about iron deficiency anemia in university girls: A perspective for an educational booklet

 Author(s): 

 J. Silvia Edison 1, Maha Alreshidi 1, Nojoud Alrashidi 2, Eman Breikan MAlshammari 1, Mneera Alshammari 1, Asia Saad S. Alrashidi 1, Laila A. Hamed 1, 3, *

 Affiliation(s):

 1Medical Surgical Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, College of Nursing, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia
 2Maternal and Child Health Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, College of Nursing, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia
 3Medical Surgical Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt

  Full Text - PDF          XML

 * Corresponding Author. 

  Corresponding author's ORCID profile: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7921-6343

 Digital Object Identifier: 

 https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2023.05.024

 Abstract:

Iron deficiency anemia is a prevalent nutritional deficiency observed among young girls globally. In the city of Hail, college students frequently opt for fast food available at their college food mall. The primary objective of this study is to examine the level of knowledge pertaining to Iron-Deficiency Anemia and awareness regarding a diet rich in iron among female university students. The aim is to promote an understanding of preventive measures for this condition. A cross-sectional research design was employed, and a sample of 700 girls aged between 18 and 25 years, who were non-medical undergraduate students at the University of Hail, was selected using the non-probability convenience sampling technique. Notably, undergraduate students enrolled in the Medicine, Nursing, and Science Colleges were excluded from the study. Data collection was performed using a standardized, pre-designed, and pretested questionnaire. The questionnaire encompassed various aspects, including demographic variables, distribution of obstetrics and menstrual history, questions regarding knowledge about anemia, knowledge about iron-rich foods, and health-seeking behavior. The findings of the study revealed that 35.1% of the students exhibited inadequate knowledge about anemia, and a significant proportion (85.9%) displayed inadequate knowledge about incorporating iron-rich foods into their diet. Additionally, 68.7% of the participants experienced heavy blood flow during their periods for a duration of 4-7 days, while 64.1% had a history of anemia. These results emphasize that this particular demographic group, which consists of women of childbearing age, lacks awareness regarding the importance of iron-rich foods and their inclusion in their diet. Consequently, enhancing their dietary habits and increasing their knowledge about iron-rich foods would help prevent the detrimental effects of anemia. Upon the completion of data collection, all study participants were provided with an informational pamphlet containing details about iron deficiency anemia and its preventive measures.

 © 2023 The Authors. Published by IASE.

 This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

 Keywords: Informational pamphlet, Iron-deficiency anemia, Knowledge

 Article History: Received 3 November 2022, Received in revised form 9 March 2023, Accepted 30 March 2023

 Acknowledgment 

The authors wish to thank the authorities for permitting them to conduct the study and the study participants for their wholehearted support. We thank all our study participants for their cooperation in this study.

 Compliance with ethical standards

 Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

 Citation:

 Edison JS, Alreshidi M, Alrashidi N, MAlshammari EB, Alshammari M, Alrashidi ASS, and Hamed LA (2023). Knowledge about iron deficiency anemia in university girls: A perspective for an educational booklet. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 10(5): 203-210

 Permanent Link to this page

 Figures

 No Figure 

 Tables

 Table 1 Table 2 Table 3 Table 4 Table 5 Table 6 Table 7 Table 8 Table 9 

----------------------------------------------    

 References (19)

  1. Abdo N, Douglas S, Batieha A, Khader Y, Jaddou H, Al-Khatib S, and Ajlouni K (2019). The prevalence and determinants of anaemia in Jordan. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 25(5): 341-349. https://doi.org/10.26719/emhj.18.047   [Google Scholar] PMid:31364759
  2. AlQuaiz AM, Gad Mohamed A, Khoja TA, AlSharif A, Shaikh SA, Al Mane H, and Hammad D (2013). Prevalence of anemia and associated factors in child bearing age women in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, 2013: 636585. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/636585   [Google Scholar] PMid:24205435 PMCid:PMC3800602
  3. Alswailem AM, Alahmad SM, and Alshehri MA (2018). The prevalence of iron deficiency anemia and its associated risk factors among a sample of females in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Egyptian Journal of Hospital Medicine, 72(6): 4625-4629. https://doi.org/10.21608/ejhm.2018.9791   [Google Scholar]
  4. Blanco-Rojo R, Toxqui L, López-Parra AM, Baeza-Richer C, Pérez-Granados AM, Arroyo-Pardo E, and Vaquero MP (2014). Influence of diet, menstruation and genetic factors on iron status: A cross-sectional study in Spanish women of childbearing age. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 15(3): 4077-4087. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms15034077   [Google Scholar] PMid:24663082 PMCid:PMC3975385
  5. Chaparro CM and Suchdev PS (2019). Anemia epidemiology, pathophysiology, and etiology in low‐and middle‐income countries. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1450(1): 15-31. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14092   [Google Scholar] PMid:31008520 PMCid:PMC6697587
  6. Johnson N, Noufeena DY, Joseph P, Aranha PR, and Shetty AP (2016). A study on knowledge regarding prevention of iron deficiency anemia among adolescent girls in selected pre-university colleges of Mangaluru. International Journal of Current Research and Review, 8(18): 5-7.   [Google Scholar]
  7. Marshall NE, Abrams B, Barbour LA, Catalano P, Christian P, Friedman JE, and Thornburg KL (2022). The importance of nutrition in pregnancy and lactation: Lifelong consequences. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 226(5): 607-632. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2021.12.035   [Google Scholar] PMid:34968458 PMCid:PMC9182711
  8. M'Cormack FA and Drolet JC (2012). Assessment of anemia knowledge, attitudes and behaviors among pregnant women in Sierra Leone. Health Educator, 44(2): 9-16.   [Google Scholar]
  9. Mujica-Coopman MF, Brito A, de Romaña DL, Pizarro F, and Olivares M (2015). Body mass index, iron absorption and iron status in childbearing age women. Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology, 30: 215-219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtemb.2014.03.008   [Google Scholar] PMid:24813452
  10. NHLBI (2019). Iron-deficiency anemia. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, Bethesda, USA.   [Google Scholar]
  11. Owaidah T, Al-Numair N, Al-Suliman A, Zolaly M, Hasanato R, Al Zahrani F, and Sajid MR (2020). Iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia are common epidemiological conditions in Saudi Arabia: Report of the national epidemiological survey. Anemia, 2020: 6642568. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/6642568   [Google Scholar] PMid:33936813 PMCid:PMC8056870
  12. Pinhas-Hamiel O, Newfield RS, Koren I, Agmon A, Lilos P, and Phillip M (2003). Greater prevalence of iron deficiency in overweight and obese children and adolescents. International Journal of Obesity, 27(3): 416-418. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802224   [Google Scholar] PMid:12629572
  13. Saad RA and Qutob HM (2022). The relationship between anemia and obesity. Expert Review of Hematology, 15(10): 911-926. https://doi.org/10.1080/17474086.2022.2131521   [Google Scholar] PMid:36189499
  14. Sharma V and Singh V (2017). Impact assessment of nutrition education programme on nutritional status of adolescent girls. Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences, 7(3): 1-5. https://doi.org/10.4172/2155-9600.1000597   [Google Scholar]
  15. Shill KB, Karmakar P, Kibria MG, Das A, Rahman MA, Hossain MS, and Sattar MM (2014). Prevalence of iron-deficiency anaemia among university students in Noakhali region, Bangladesh. Journal of Health, Population, and Nutrition, 32(1): 103-110.   [Google Scholar]
  16. Singh M, Rajoura OP, and Honnakamble RA (2019). Anemia-related knowledge, attitude, and practices in adolescent schoolgirls of Delhi: A cross-sectional study. International Journal of Health and Allied Sciences, 8(2): 144-148.   [Google Scholar]
  17. Theng CE, Zakaria NS, and Yusof HM (2017). Knowledge and attitude on consumption of iron supplement among pregnant women in Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu. Malaysian Applied Biology, 46(3): 105-112.   [Google Scholar]
  18. WHO (2021). Anaemia in women and children: WHO global anaemia estimates. World Health Organisation, Geneva, Switzerland.   [Google Scholar]
  19. Zimmermann MB, Zeder C, Muthayya S, Winichagoon P, Chaouki N, Aeberli I, and Hurrell RF (2008). Adiposity in women and children from transition countries predicts decreased iron absorption, iron deficiency and a reduced response to iron fortification. International Journal of Obesity, 32(7): 1098-1104. https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2008.43   [Google Scholar] PMid:18427564