Assessment of Knowledge about Iron Deficiency Anemia among the Adult Women in Selected Hospitals of Dhaka City

Iron deficiency is one of the most common nutrient deficiencies, affecting 2 billion people in worldwide. It is also the leading cause of anemia. Estimates of the national prevalence of anemia in Bangladesh have remained constant at 74% for the past 30 years. This high rate of anemia is a major public health concern for Bangladesh. The aim of the study was to determine the knowledge level about Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA) & nutritional status among the adult women and the pregnant women in the selected hospitals of Dhaka city. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted for the study. A pretested semi-structured questionnaire was used for the data collection. The results showed that, majority of the respondents 140 (70%) were pregnant and 60 (30%) were non pregnant among 200 respondents. The Mean ± (sd) age of study population was ±33 years. From all respondents the literacy rate of women were maximum (69%) but knowledge about IDA & nutritional status were not enough at all. Among the respondents the knowledge about IDA & nutritional status of adult women were 23% good, 40% moderate and 37% very poor. In pregnancy period 74% of the respondents did not take their iron related drugs regularly. Most of the adult women and the pregnant women were not significant knowledgeable regarding IDA, nutritional education & modified dietary habit. So, campaign for awareness on healthy life style practice is required for reducing this problem. Overall Government approach is also recommended for the lower prevalence rate of IDA.