Effect of nutrition education and iron-folic acid supplementation on anemia among pregnant women in Ethiopia: a quasi-experimental study

Abstract The aim of this study was to assess the effect of nutrition education and counseling using health belief health model constructs along with iron-folic acid supplementation on hemoglobin level and adherence to IFAs during pregnancy. The study was a three-month quasi-experimental study design...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Anchamo Anato, Mensur Reshid
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-01-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-87957-x
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832571643882373120
author Anchamo Anato
Mensur Reshid
author_facet Anchamo Anato
Mensur Reshid
author_sort Anchamo Anato
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The aim of this study was to assess the effect of nutrition education and counseling using health belief health model constructs along with iron-folic acid supplementation on hemoglobin level and adherence to IFAs during pregnancy. The study was a three-month quasi-experimental study design in Butajira town, Ethiopia. Community-based nutrition education and counseling sessions using the Health belief model, and IFAS for six weeks were given to the pregnant women. Compliance with iron-folic acid supplementation (IFAS) was assessed using pill counts based on the number of remaining pills in the retained prescribed bottles or strips. End-line data were collected from 97 interventions and 96 control groups of pregnant women after 6 weeks of nutrition education interventions. The analysis of the effect of the intervention was done using difference-in-difference and a generalized estimation equation (GEE) approach. At the end of the nutrition education intervention, there was a significant drop in the proportion of anemia in the intervention group compared to the control group. The prevalence of anemia among the intervention group declined from 27.8% at baseline to 7.2% after intervention. The change in the knowledge score regarding IFAS and maternal adherence to IFAS were significantly higher in the intervention group as compared to the control group (p < 0.001). In this study, the odds of adherence to IFA supplementation were 2.26 (95% CI 1.55 to 3.29) times higher among those who received nutrition education interventions as compared to the control group. Implementation of community-based nutrition education and counseling along with IFAS improved the hemoglobin level and adherence to IFAS among pregnant women. Therefore, there is need to integrate community-based nutrition education approach by using HBM constructs with antenatal IFAS distribution to improve supplementation and hemoglobin level of pregnant women.
format Article
id doaj-art-35515bc0909b43bdbb05e22acd606fae
institution Kabale University
issn 2045-2322
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
record_format Article
series Scientific Reports
spelling doaj-art-35515bc0909b43bdbb05e22acd606fae2025-02-02T12:24:41ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-01-0115111010.1038/s41598-025-87957-xEffect of nutrition education and iron-folic acid supplementation on anemia among pregnant women in Ethiopia: a quasi-experimental studyAnchamo Anato0Mensur Reshid1School of Nutrition, Food Science and Technology, Hawassa UniversityButajira City Administration Health OfficeAbstract The aim of this study was to assess the effect of nutrition education and counseling using health belief health model constructs along with iron-folic acid supplementation on hemoglobin level and adherence to IFAs during pregnancy. The study was a three-month quasi-experimental study design in Butajira town, Ethiopia. Community-based nutrition education and counseling sessions using the Health belief model, and IFAS for six weeks were given to the pregnant women. Compliance with iron-folic acid supplementation (IFAS) was assessed using pill counts based on the number of remaining pills in the retained prescribed bottles or strips. End-line data were collected from 97 interventions and 96 control groups of pregnant women after 6 weeks of nutrition education interventions. The analysis of the effect of the intervention was done using difference-in-difference and a generalized estimation equation (GEE) approach. At the end of the nutrition education intervention, there was a significant drop in the proportion of anemia in the intervention group compared to the control group. The prevalence of anemia among the intervention group declined from 27.8% at baseline to 7.2% after intervention. The change in the knowledge score regarding IFAS and maternal adherence to IFAS were significantly higher in the intervention group as compared to the control group (p < 0.001). In this study, the odds of adherence to IFA supplementation were 2.26 (95% CI 1.55 to 3.29) times higher among those who received nutrition education interventions as compared to the control group. Implementation of community-based nutrition education and counseling along with IFAS improved the hemoglobin level and adherence to IFAS among pregnant women. Therefore, there is need to integrate community-based nutrition education approach by using HBM constructs with antenatal IFAS distribution to improve supplementation and hemoglobin level of pregnant women.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-87957-xNutrition educationPregnancyHemoglobinAnemiaAdherenceIFAS
spellingShingle Anchamo Anato
Mensur Reshid
Effect of nutrition education and iron-folic acid supplementation on anemia among pregnant women in Ethiopia: a quasi-experimental study
Scientific Reports
Nutrition education
Pregnancy
Hemoglobin
Anemia
Adherence
IFAS
title Effect of nutrition education and iron-folic acid supplementation on anemia among pregnant women in Ethiopia: a quasi-experimental study
title_full Effect of nutrition education and iron-folic acid supplementation on anemia among pregnant women in Ethiopia: a quasi-experimental study
title_fullStr Effect of nutrition education and iron-folic acid supplementation on anemia among pregnant women in Ethiopia: a quasi-experimental study
title_full_unstemmed Effect of nutrition education and iron-folic acid supplementation on anemia among pregnant women in Ethiopia: a quasi-experimental study
title_short Effect of nutrition education and iron-folic acid supplementation on anemia among pregnant women in Ethiopia: a quasi-experimental study
title_sort effect of nutrition education and iron folic acid supplementation on anemia among pregnant women in ethiopia a quasi experimental study
topic Nutrition education
Pregnancy
Hemoglobin
Anemia
Adherence
IFAS
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-87957-x
work_keys_str_mv AT anchamoanato effectofnutritioneducationandironfolicacidsupplementationonanemiaamongpregnantwomeninethiopiaaquasiexperimentalstudy
AT mensurreshid effectofnutritioneducationandironfolicacidsupplementationonanemiaamongpregnantwomeninethiopiaaquasiexperimentalstudy