Description
Abstract
It is evident that iron is key for proper health and development as it is required for academic and work productivity in adulthood. Intake of iron-rich foods, sanitation, health, economic and socio-demographic factors are principal determinants of Iron- deficiency anaemia (IDA) among the elderly. There is the paucity of data concerning the prevalence of IDA in the elderly since most studies focus mainly on the selection of iron rich foods as criteria for determining those at risk of IDA. This study was therefore carried out to assess the awareness and practices in the prevention of iron deficiency anaemia among elderly in Owan East LGA, Edo State. A cross-sectional analytical study design was adopted for the study. The study targeted a sample size of 200 elderly individuals selected by a systematic random sampling method. Data were collected by researcher administered questionnaires and interview schedules given to the respondents. The data were cleaned analyzed using SPPS Version 20. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the daily intake of nutrients, sanitation, economic and socio-demographic factors. The level of significance of accepting the null hypotheses was 0.05. The minimum dietary diversity was (34%), minimum meal frequency (58%) and minimum acceptable diet was (58%). Further analysis revealed significant relationships between malaria with IDA (ODDS Ratio[OR] 2.95, CI0.72-3.22, p0.013), helminthic infestation with IDA (ODDS Ratio[OR] 3.87, CI0.84-4.12, p0.001) and immunization status with IDA (ODDS Ratio[OR] 2.98, CI 0.63-3.16, p0.032). It is recommended that aggressive awareness campaigns targeting proper complementary feeding and proper iron-rich diet for the elderly and the public in hospitals, markets and other rural settlements should be launched by all health stakeholders.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.