Assessment of the Effect of Nutrition Education Intervention on Anaemia among In-School Adolescent Girls in Ogun State, Nigeria.
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Date
2025-12
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Lead City University, Ibadan
Abstract
Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) is the most common nutritional disorder affecting over 2 billion people especially women, children and adolescents. IDA is a condition in which anaemia occurs due to lack of available iron to support normal red cell. Adolescents are a particularly vulnerable group when it comes to IDA because they are going through a period of rapid growth and development, which puts an increased demand on their bodies for iron. Improved nourishment is required for the biological well-being of adolescents. This study assessed the effect of nutrition education intervention on anaemia among in-school girls (10-19years) in public secondary schools in Ogun State, Nigeria. This study was a quasi-experimental approach, with pre-and post-intervention assessments. The study involved an intervention group that receives the 6- weeks nutrition education classes’ intervention and a control group that does not. An adapted structured questionnaire from FAO was used to collect data on socio-demographics, knowledge on iron and anaemia, attitude towards IDA, iron intake practice and a 24-hour dietary recall questionnaire. Anthropometry and biochemical assessments of the study participants was also carried out. The data was analysed using statistical package for Social Sciences (SPSS) with statistical difference set at p <0.05. The demographic profile of the participants shows the mean age of 13.64 ± 1.82. At baseline (n=277), 84.48% had some level of anaemia: moderate anaemia (59.6%), mild anaemia (14.1%) & severe anaemia (10.8%). Also, 83% participants generally had poor knowledge of IDA, 56% had negative attitudes towards IDA and 56.3% had inadequate iron intake. After the six-week intervention, the intervention group showed significant improvement. Knowledge about IDA increased substantially, with 88.1% demonstrating good knowledge. Attitudes shifted positively to 87.4%, dietary practices improved with a decreased in inadequate iron intake and an increase in consumption of iron-rich foods. Haemoglobin levels increased significantly compared to the control group. The control group, on the other hand, experienced a decline in mild haemoglobin levels and an increase in severe anaemia from 8.7% to 14.6% after the intervention period. This emphasizes the positive effect of the intervention on the
intervention group’s iron status. The control group’s mean haemoglobin decreased to 96.1g/L after the intervention, while the intervention group’s mean haemoglobin level increased to103.3g/L, a statistically significant difference (P-value of 0.011). Although both groups showed improvement in knowledge scores after the intervention, the intervention group experienced a significant increase in knowledge, highlighting the effectiveness of the program. At the end of the study, the intervention group, had a higher knowledge score compared to the control group (p =0.000). The intervention was effective in shifting the attitudes of the participants, where the positive attitudes significantly increased, indicating the success of the nutrition education program in improving their outlook on anaemia. The baseline practices of the participants regarding IDA showed regular fish consumption (44.4%) with limited intake of other iron-rich foods, while the nutrition education intervention led to improved dietary practices, with increased consumption of iron-rich foods and a significant reduction of tea/coffee intake, which inhibits iron absorption.
Keywords: Adolescent girls, anaemia, Nutrition Education, prevalence, dietary intake
Word Count: 497
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Keywords
Adolescent girls, anaemia, Nutrition Education, prevalence, dietary intake
Citation
kate Turabian