A study to assess the effectiveness of nurse led intervention on knowledge and practice regarding iron supplement among multigravida mothers in selected primary health centre at Chennai

Abstract

Iron deficiency is a global public health issue, particularly in pregnant and postpartum women, leading to complications such as fatigue, decreased immunity, and impaired cognitive ability. Inadequate iron intake, poor socioeconomic status, and excessive blood loss during previous delivery are the major causes of iron deficiency in Multigravida mothers. Iron supplementation is a key preventive measure, yet many multigravida mothers, despite their experience, may lack adequate knowledge and practice in managing their nutritional needs. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the effectiveness of nurse-led intervention on knowledge and practice regarding iron supplements among multigravida mothers. A pre-experimental one-group pre-test and post-test pre-experimental research design was adopted for the study, among 30 multigravida mothers were selected using a purposive sampling technique. A structured questionnaire was used to assess the level of participants' knowledge about Iron supplements and the Adherence to refills and medications scale (ARMS) tool was used to evaluate participants actual level of practice regrading iron supplements among multigravida mothers. For knowledge Competency-based teaching session it covers the topics like awareness of its benefits, correct dosage & frequency, Dietary change & side effects by using a pamphlet and for practice was demonstrated on how to take an iron supplement effectively and avoid inhibitors like Tea & Coffee. The intervention was delivered in small group lasting approximately 30-45 min. The study findings showed that the pre-test on knowledge and practice mean scores was 13.07 and 30.50 respectively with standard deviations of 2.52 and 4.29 in each variable. And post-test knowledge and practice mean score was 21.03 and 21.50 with standard deviations of 3.51 and 4.29 respectively. The paired `t` value was 15.953 and 7.828, which revealed that there was a highly statistically significant difference between the pre-test and post-test level of knowledge and practice at p<0.05.