Comparison of knowledge, attitude and practice of urban and rural households toward iron deficiency anemia in three Provinces of Iran

Lack of nutritional knowledge is one of the most important reasons of nutritional problems and consequently improper practice, which can lead to several complications. This study has been designed in order to compare knowledge, attitude and practices of the urban and rural households regarding iron deficiency anemia [IDA] in Boushehr, Golestan and Sistan and Balouchestan provinces in 2004. The sampling method at household's level in each province was the single-stage cluster sampling with equal size clusters. The necessary data were gathered with a structured questionnaire and via the interviews between the questioners and the eligible people in each household. Comparison of frequency of variables between urban and rural areas were tested by chi square test. A total of 2306 households were selected as overall sample size. In urban areas, people recognized iron food sources better than rural areas. Knowledge level of respondents about vulnerable group for IDA and the favorite attitude of households toward IDA were better in urban areas of Sistan and Blouchestan and Golestan provinces. In Sistan and Balouchestan and Golestan, rural households who drank tea immediately before or after meal was more than urban ones. The majority of pregnant and lactating mothers [except for rural areas of Bushehr] did not take iron supplement regularly. Less than 60 percent of children used iron drop regularly. Knowledge, attitude, and practice levels of households toward IDA were not acceptable. One of the best ways of improving nutritional practice is nutritional education with focus on applying available food resources

[Knowledge, Attitude and practice of households and health care staff towards nutrition and micronutrients (NUT-KAP) in provinces under the pilot study on flour fortification with Iron: study design and sampling method]

A [healthy human being] is the cornerstone of stable development in every country. Thus, an important part of the development process is the nutritional improvement of the society. Although a great proportion of the families' income is spent on food nutritional problems are still prominent in this country. This fact demonstrated that diets are mostly influenced by the education and knowledge of the households, rather than any new developments in food production. This study was designed to investigate the knowledge, attitude and practices of the households and health care provider regarding nutrition and micronutrients in provinces of Bousheher, Golestan, and Sistan and Balouchestan. The results of this study can help the Community Nutrition Office in the design and effective implementation of interventions aimed at improving nutritional health households. The sampling method for households was the single-stage cluster sampling with equal-sized clusters. The sampling method for health staff was stratified random sampling. The number of samples in each stratum was proportion to its size. A total of 2304 households and 360 health care workers were selected for this study. The data were gathered through a structured questionnaire and via interviews with eligible people in each household, and although some levels of health staff. At the level of the health staff, physicians and other health professionals, data collection was done through self-administrated questionnaires