A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON AWARENESS AND PERCEPTION ABOUT ANEMIA AMONG URBAN AND RURAL ADOLESCENT HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS

Abstract

Background: The health consequences of anemia among adolescents are well documented. Anemia not only affects growth, development and learning process during adolescence but also affects the nutritional status resulting in deleterious effects in future pregnancy, especially when they are traditionally married at an early age and are exposed to a greater risk of reproductive morbidity and mortality such as increased incidence of low birth weight, fetal wastage, high perinatal mortality, infant mortality and maternal mortality, thus perpetuating a vicious cycle of health problems passing on to next generation.

Methods:  A school based Cross-sectional, comparative study. Total 650 adolescent high school girls of which 330were from school of    Darbhanga city & 320 from schools of field practice area of Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital Darbhanga Laheriasarai Bihar.

Conclusion: The present study revealed that rural adolescent girls were more aware about anemia compared to urban girls, where as both urban & rural girls had same perception about anemia. The prevalence of anemia washigher among rural girls compared to urban girls & among girls whose mother had completed primary level ofeducation.

Keywords: High school; Adolescent girls; anemia; awareness, perception.