Management of Anemia in Primary Students, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province

Abstract

Introduction: Anemia is a condition in which hemoglobin level in typical values that affects the growth and intelligence development of schoolchildren. The objectives of this research were to establish the guidelines for managing anemia in primary students, and study the performance according to the guidelines for managing anemia.

Methods: This study was action research. The samples consisted of 2 district public health, 3 subdistrict health promotion hospital directors, and 4 registered nurses, totaling 13 samples, and 34 pairs of anemia students and parents. Data were collected from March to December 2022. The instruments were interviews, hematocrit records, and a questionnaire on behavior with an index of congruence items between 0.65-0.80 and a reliability of 0.74. Data were analyzed by content analysis, percentage, average, standard deviation, and t-test (dependent).

Results: 11) The guidelines for the management of anemia consisted of defining working groups, activities, indicators, and action plans, and 2) before implementing the guidelines, the students had an average hematocrit of 31.45 percent, after implementing, the average hematocrit was 34.72 percent, increased by 3.27 percent with a statistical significance of 0.05 (p=0.01), the parental food-related care behavior level before implementing the guidelines was moderately appropriate (±S.D.=3.02±0.60), and after implementing the guidelines was the most appropriate (±S.D.=4.59±0.21) with a statistical significance of 0.05 (p=0.03).

Conclusions: The guidelines for the management of anemia were four steps (defining working groups, activities, indicators, and implementation). The performance increased the red blood cell concentration of the students, and parents take care of food for school children more appropriately.