Effectiveness of a Planned Teaching Programme to Educate Adolescent Girls in the Avoidance and Dealing with Iron Deficiency Anaemia in a Selected School of Bilaspur District

Abstract

Background: Nowadays young adolescents face many problems because of their lifestyle modifications such as eating junk foods, fast foods, snacking, and skipping meals. Some adolescents are undernourished due to a lack of awareness regarding dietary iron and poor socioeconomic status. These are quite common among urban adolescent girls. Iron deficiency anaemia is the most prevalent nutritional disorder in the world today. Iron is a necessary mineral for body function and good health. A lack of iron in the blood can lead to iron deficiency anaemia, which is a very common nutritional deficiency among children and adolescents. Objective: This study is aimed to analyse the effectiveness of a planned teaching programme to educate adolescent girls in the prevention and management of iron deficiency anaemia in a selected school of Bilaspur district. Method: Convenient sampling technique and structured questionnaire were used in the study. Result and Conclusion: The findings revealed that about 38% of the adolescent girls belonged to the age group of 14.1-15 years, 85% belonged to the Hindu religion, 48% had family income > 30,000 INR, 63% belonged to nuclear families, fathers of 60% of the adolescent girls were government employees, mothers of 48% of the adolescent girls were housewives, 78% of the adolescent girls belonged to urban areas, and 48% of the adolescent girls had got the information through mass media. The distribution of the adolescent girls among the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th standards was found to be equal (25% each). The assessment of the overall pre-test knowledge level of adolescent girls shows that 3% had good knowledge, 86% had average knowledge, and 11% had below-average knowledge.