Department of Dietetics, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana.
Department of Nursing, Anglican University College of Technology, Nkoranza, Ghana.
Womens Health (Lond). 2024 Jan-Dec;20:17455057241263826. doi: 10.1177/17455057241263826.
Anaemia is a global public health concern. Anaemia in women of reproductive age has negative outcomes on their health and reproduction.
This study assessed the knowledge, prevalence and associated factors of anaemia among non-pregnant and non-lactating women of reproductive age in Northern Ghana.
This is a cross-sectional study.
A systematic random sampling was used to select 317 participants from the Tamale Metropolis. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data on the sociodemographic, knowledge level of anaemia and iron foods. Haemoglobin levels were determined using URIT-12. Haemoglobin status was classified according to the World Health Organization standards. Descriptive statistics and chi-square were used in the statistical analysis.
The mean age (SD) of participants was 26.4 ± 6.9. A large proportion (68.8%) of the women had knowledge about anaemia, and the source of information was mainly health professionals (56.4%). More than half of the participants knew of the symptoms (80%), causes (83.9%), prevention measures (81.2%), consequences of anaemia (64.2%) and iron-rich food sources (76%). A greater share of the participants, however, had no knowledge of both iron-enhancing foods (53.7%) and iron-inhibiting foods (51.8%). The prevalence of anaemia was high generally (63.1%) and was highest among females at the tertiary institutions (43%) and who were single (60.5%). A significant association existed between income status and haemoglobin status ( = 6.3, = 0.044).
The majority of participants knew about anaemia; however, they had limited knowledge of iron-enhancing and inhibiting foods. The prevalence of anaemia was high among women of reproductive age. Integrating economic empowerment and nutrition education with the inclusion of iron-enhancing and iron-inhibiting foods could help to reduce the high prevalence of anaemia among women of reproductive age.
贫血是一个全球性的公共卫生问题。育龄期妇女贫血对其健康和生殖功能有负面影响。
本研究评估了加纳北部非妊娠和非哺乳期育龄妇女的贫血知识、患病率和相关因素。
这是一项横断面研究。
采用系统随机抽样法从塔马利大都市区选取 317 名参与者。使用半结构式问卷收集社会人口学、贫血知识水平和铁食品的数据。使用 URIT-12 测定血红蛋白水平。根据世界卫生组织标准对血红蛋白状态进行分类。统计分析采用描述性统计和卡方检验。
参与者的平均年龄（SD）为 26.4±6.9。很大一部分（68.8%）妇女了解贫血，信息来源主要是卫生专业人员（56.4%）。超过一半的参与者知道贫血的症状（80%）、原因（83.9%）、预防措施（81.2%）、贫血的后果（64.2%）和富含铁的食物来源（76%）。然而，更多的参与者对铁增强食物（53.7%）和铁抑制食物（51.8%）都没有了解。贫血的总体患病率较高（63.1%），在专科院校的女性（43%）和单身女性（60.5%）中最高。收入状况与血红蛋白状况之间存在显著关联（ = 6.3， = 0.044）。
大多数参与者了解贫血；然而，他们对铁增强和抑制食物的了解有限。育龄期妇女贫血的患病率较高。将经济赋权和营养教育与包括铁增强和铁抑制食物相结合，可能有助于降低育龄期妇女贫血的高患病率。
