Information exposure, anemia perceptions, and parental roles in iron consumption compliance among adolescent girls

Retno Heru Setyorini, Agus Susanto, Era Revika

Abstract

Background: Iron deficiency anemia remains a common public health problem among adolescent girls, negatively impacting physical development, cognitive performance, and productivity. Although iron supplementation programs have been widely implemented, compliance with iron tablet consumption is still suboptimal.


Objective: This study aims to identify factors associated with compliance with iron consumption among adolescent girls, including knowledge of anemia symptoms, exposure to information about anemia, exposure to information about iron tablets, adolescent girls' perceptions of the impact of anemia on pregnancy and childbirth, acceptance of iron tablets, and parental awareness of the iron tablet program, and parental support for adolescent girls.


Methods: This study is a cross-sectional survey study conducted from June to August 2024 in Bantul Regency, Special Region of Yogyakarta, involving 384 adolescent girls selected using stratified random sampling. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire and analyzed using the chi-square test and logistic regression.


Results: Bivariate analysis showed a significant association between adherence and acceptance of iron consumption (p = 0.000), parental awareness (p = 0.020), perception of the impact of anemia (p = 0.014), exposure to information about anemia (p = 0.040), and iron tablets (p = 0.029). Logistic regression revealed that the main predictors of adherence included acceptance of iron supplements (OR = 3.911; 95% CI: 1.938–8.218), parental awareness (OR = 1.925; 95% CI: 1.068–3.471), perception of the impact of anemia (OR = 1.742; 95% CI: 1.138–2.669), and exposure to information about iron tablets (OR = 1.633; 95% CI: 1.062-2.510).


Conclusion: Although exposure to information was not statistically significant in multivariate analysis, it showed a positive trend. These findings highlight the importance of increasing adolescent acceptance, improving perception of the consequences of anemia, and increasing parental involvement to support iron supplementation adherence.

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Authors

Retno Heru Setyorini
Agus Susanto
agussus@yahoo.com (Primary Contact)
Era Revika
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