Health education program for mothers of children suffering from iron deficiency anemia in United Arab Emirates

ABSTRACT

The present study was designed to assess knowledge, beliefs and practices of mothers regarding factors leading to iron deficiency anemia among children, to develop a health education [HE] program according to the needs of the target group, to determine the effect of the program in terms of changes in mothers' knowledge, practices and beliefs using Health Belief Model [HBM], and to determine the hemoglobin and hematocrite levels of the children of the target group before and after the program. The sample size was 200 anemic children aged 6-24 months and their mothers, 100 of them were randomly assigned to face to face intervention program [experimental group] [I], the other 100 were the control group [II]. Only 16% of mothers of group I and 18% of mothers of group II got satisfactory level of knowledge. After the conduction of HE program, the mothers' knowledge was significantly increased among group I, while almost there was no change of the knowledge's level among group II. Only 7% of mothers of group I and 27% of those of group II had high perceived severity. Only 8% of mothers of group I and 14% of those of group II had low perceived barriers. After the program, 58% of mothers in group I got low perceived barriers. Only 28% of mothers of group I and 21% of those of group II had good dietary practice. After the program, 74% of mothers in group I showed good dietary practice. There were highly significant increases in the levels of hemoglobin and hematocrite of children of group I after the program, while the increases were not significant in group II