Abstract
BACKGROUND: 29.9% of reproductive-age women globally and 57% in India suffer from anemia making it a public health concern. OBJECTIVES: 1. To determine the prevalence of anemia among women aged 15-59 years in a rural area in Ernakulam District. 2. To assess the knowledge, attitude, practice and health seeking behaviour related to anemia among women in the study setting. 3. To find the association between anemia and the knowledge, attitudes, practices and health-seeking behavior (HSB) of women in the study setting. METHODOLOGY: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted over 3 months in Chengamanad panchayat among 208 women aged 15-59 years using cluster sampling. Study tool was an expert-validated semi-structured questionnaire in local language and participants were interviewed after taking informed consent. Hemoglobin levels were measured by Junior Public Health Nurses using a Digital Hemoglobinometer. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS software and p < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. RESULTS: In the study among 208 participants (mean age: 41.52 ± 12.11 years), anemia prevalence was 43.8% (37.1%, 50.5%) (Mild: 20.2%, Moderate: 19.7%, Severe: 3.8%), with a mean hemoglobin level of 11.98 ± 1.82 gm/dl. Among the 91 women with anemia, 72.5% (66.4%, 78.6%) lacked adequate knowledge, though 89% had a positive attitude. Only 59.3% (52.6%, 65.9%) practiced effective anemia prevention strategies, and 50.5% exhibited insufficient HSB. Anemia was found to be significantly associated with religion (?2 = 10.66) and education (?2 = 8.09). Significant association was found between knowledge and attitude (?2 = 5.88), practice (?2 = 3.60) and HSB (?2 = 19.24). CONCLUSION: A high anemia prevalence (43.8%) was idenitifed and was significantly associated with religion and education. Emphasizing behaviour change communication is crucial for effective intervention.