Abstract

Anaemia and iron deficiency are very common worldwide among female adolescents. There is a dearth of literature concerning the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) regarding iron deficiency anaemia (IDA). The magnitude of anaemia as a health problem is enormous and can be engaged by increasing awareness and the promotion of correct attitudes and practices. The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a nutrition education intervention in iron deficiency anaemia on the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) among iron-deficient female adolescents in the Gaza Strip. In this intervention study, 89 female adolescents aged 15–19 were recruited and randomly divided into intervention and control groups. Both of the groups received iron supplementation (ferrous fumarate 200 mg) weekly for three months. The intervention group attended nutrition education sessions for 3 months, while the control group did not. The two groups completed KAP questionnaires at baseline and after six months. The nutrition education intervention consisted of lectures, presentations, interactive discussions using posters, and the distribution of information booklets and brochures about proper nutrition, and was conducted for three months. KAP and overall scores before and after the intervention were compared using the Wilcoxon signed ranks test, as the scores did not show normal distribution. Our findings revealed that overall, the female adolescents’ knowledge improved significantly after a nutrition education intervention, as the percentage of good knowledge (≥50 %) was 22.7% pre-nutrition educational intervention, and increased to 90.9% post intervention (p <0.001) in the intervention group. Attitude and practice also improved from 36.4% and 54.5% at pre-test to 75.5 % and 75.5% (p <0.001 and p <0.002) at post-test, respectively. Nutrition education intervention has an impact on improving knowledge, attitude and practices of iron-deficient female adolescents compared with control. The nutrition programme should be adopted and integrated into comprehensive intervention programmes to target IDA among adolescents at various levels in Palestine.

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