What is it about?
Socio-demographic factors influence the magnitude of anemia in endemic areas. The purpose of this study is to establish the magnitude of anemia and to determine anemia preventive practices carried out by mothers with children under five years of age in the Kadjebi District of the Volta region of Ghana.
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Why is it important?
Anemia is a public health problem that the world is facing and can be defined as a reduced concentration of hemoglobin in the blood. This results in a lack of oxygen delivery to vital organs in the body. Anemia in children is a consequence of a wide range of factors, resulting from socio-economic causes such as poor nutrition and poverty; to pathological causes ranging from vitamin deficiencies, and intestinal infections. In other words, nutritional deficiencies, hemoglobinopathies, and infectious diseases are prevalent causes of anemia. Anemia is a severe global public health issue that disproportionately affects children under the age of five and pregnant women. According to the 2021 World Health Organization (WHO), 42.0% of children under the age of five and 40.0% of pregnant women are anemic worldwide.
Perspectives
Most of the children in the study were anemic. Mothers practiced exclusive breastfeeding, iron, and vitamin supplementation, and ensured that children slept under insecticide-treated mosquito nets as a means of preventing malaria.
Dr Adekunle Sanyaolu
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The magnitude of anemia and preventive practices in mothers with children under five years of age in Dodi Papase, Volta region of Ghana, PLoS ONE, August 2022, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0272488.
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