Beliefs about adherence to iron supplementation treatment in mothers of children with anemia living in an altitude region of Peru

Caballero-Apaza L.M.; Vidal Espinoza R.; Padilla-Cáceres T.C.; Cossio Bolaños M.; Gomez-Campos R. · Nutricion Clinica y Dietetica Hospitalaria (2022) · DOI: 10.12873/422caballero

Resumen

Introduction: iron deficiency anemia is considered a public health problem that mainly affects children under five years of age and pregnant women globally. Objective: To verify beliefs about adherence to iron supplementation treatment according to sociodemographic variables in mothers of children with anemia living in an altitude region of Peru. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out on 192 mothers. The mothers were recruited voluntarily from four health centers in the city of Puno (Peru). The mothers ranged in age from 18 to 40 years. A 12-item scale previously validated for the high altitude population of Peru was applied to measure beliefs about adherence to iron supplementation treatment in mothers of children with anemia Results: There were no significant differences in beliefs about adherence to iron supplementation treatment between the age ranges (18 to 24 years 42.2±4.5 points, 25 to 30 years 45.1±5.1 points, 25 to 30 years 45.1±5.1 points, 25 to 40 years 45.1±5.1 points). 1±5.1 points, 31 to 36 years 44.8±6.5 points and 37 to 42 years 42.6±10.3 points, p>0.05) and between anemia diagnosis categories (mild 44.8±6.3 points, moderate 45.3 and severe 47.3±3.8 points, p>0.05). However, in relation to educational level, significant differences were observed, where mothers with secondary education presented lower values (43.0±6.4 points) compared to those with higher technical education (46.0±5.1 points) and university education (46.0±6.0 points) (p<0.05). In addition, an association was observed between the categories of beliefs about adherence to iron supplementation treatment (high, medium and low) with the categories of educational level (X2= 12.14, gl: 4, p= 0.01). Conclusion: Beliefs about adherence to iron supplementation treatment in mothers with higher education were higher than in mothers with secondary education. These results suggest that educational level could be a determining factor when analyzing adherence to iron treatment in mothers living at high altitude in Peru.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional del Altiplano