An investigation of the effect of nutrition education on children and their families with a diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia to Hacettepe University İhsan Doğramacı Children's Hospital polyclinics

Hospital Polyclinics with the Diagnosis of Iron Deficiency Anemia, Hacettepe University Graduate School of Health Sciences Nutrition and Food Sciences Program Master's Thesis, Ankara, 2023. Iron deficiency anemia is a public health issue that can be prevented through appropriate interventions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a dietary education intervention on the dietary habits of patients, an education that was directed to children who have been diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia and their parents who applied to the Children Health and Diseases Polyclinics of Hacettepe University İhsan Doğramacı Children's Hospital between June 2022-April 2023. 102 patients in total (58 males and 44 females), who applied to the clinic were separated into two groups with respect to their line number and one of the groups received a standard dietary education while the other group had a specialized dietary education regarding iron deficiency anemia. Nutrition item analyses, which were obtained through the nutrition consumption records of the first and third months, were compared both by in-group and inter-group changes in the diagnosis process. The nutrition consumption records were evaluated via a special calculation program; the SPSS 22.0 statistical analysis package program. Data that showed a normal distribution were compared with parametric tests, while data that did not show a normal distribution were compared with non-parametric tests, and the values that had a p value of <0.05 within a 95% reliability range were accepted as statistically significant. In the first month, 78 patients (39 with standard education, 39 with specialized education) were included in the examination process. It was observed that all of the children had increased intakes of energy, protein, iron, B12 and zinc (p<0.05). While the fulfillment of the required quantities of iron was 68.08% on average initially, it was seen at the examination process, which was executed on the end of the first month, that the required intake of the relevant iron values was 88.33% for the group that received standard education and 83.71% for the group that had received specialized education. It was observed within the intergroup comparison that the consumed quantities of iron had shown a 28.83% increase on average among the standard education group, whereas the same parameter had shown a 54.06% increase among the group which received specialized education (p=0.026). Protein consumption of the standard education group had shown an increase of 28.87%, while it had shown an increase of 68.85% in the specialized education group, and a significant disparity between the increases of protein intake was observed (p=0.011). The increase in intake in vitamin B12 is also higher among the group that has received specialized education (p=0.003). At the end of the third month after giving the nutrition education to the patients and their parents, 46 patients (23 with standard education and 23 with specialized education) were included in the examination, and the results were found to be similar to the examinations that were conducted in the first month. These results show that among children who are diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia; dietary education may contribute to increased various macro- and micronutrient intake with iron being in the first place. The dietary education intervention for the children and their parents must primarily be designed in a way to prevent the development of iron deficiency anemia and should be addressed throughout the "newborn" and "adolescent" periods. In addition to individually conducted interventions, the extension, maintenance, and implementation of comprehensive governmental policies and regulations for dietary education are needed.