Knowledge, attitude, and practice about anemia among adolescent girls in urban slums of Davangere City, Karnataka -

Background: Anemia is one of the most widespread nutritional deficiency diseases. It affects all age groups and both sexes in most states of India. Profoundly affected groups are adolescent girls (74%–98%). Anemia in adolescents is a critical public health problem in India. Lack of nutritional knowledge is one of the most significant reasons of nutritional problems and consequently improper practice, which can lead to several complications. Objectives: (1) To know knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding anemia among adolescent girls. (2) To know treatment-seeking behavior regarding anemia among adolescent girls. Materials and Methods: It is a cross-sectional study conducted among adolescent school girls aged 11–15 years from five government schools under urban field practice area of JJM medical college, Davangere. The study was conducted from 1st September to 30th November 2014 for a period of 3 months by using a pre-designed, pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire. Result: Age of students ranged from 11 to 15 and the mean age was 13 years. One hundred sixty (91%) had heard of anemia; 53 (33%) girls told poor diet is the only cause for anemia; 49 (31%) told tiredness is the only feature of anemia; 20 (13%) answered anemia impacts on physical growth, learning process, and decreases work capacity; and 88 (55%) girls told they will consult doctor and takes iron tablets. Conclusions: The study has highlighted good knowledge but poor attitude and practice toward anemia among adolescent girls.