Comparative study to evaluate the awareness about anemia and its complications, among undergraduate and postgraduate medical students- a cross sectional survey study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20161933Keywords:
Anemia, Questionnaire, KnowledgeAbstract
Background: Anemia is a condition in which numbers of red blood cells or their oxygen carrying capacity is insufficient to meet the physiologic needs which vary by age, sex, altitude, smoking and pregnancy status. Iron deficiency anemia is the most common type of anemia in the world. Aim of the study was to compare and evaluate awareness about anemia and its complications among the undergraduate and postgraduate medical students.
Methods: A prospective, cross sectional, questionnaire based, survey study was carried out at S.B.K.S. Medical institute and RC, Vadodara. The well-defined, structured questionnaire was prepared, distributed and collected when it was duly filled by undergraduate and postgraduate students. The questionnaire was mainly based upon basic knowledge of anemia, its investigations, treatment, and complications. The answers were evaluated in a structured format and further depending on the scores the participants were grouped as poor (<50%), average (50%-70%) and good performers (>70%). Later, it was subjected to Chi-square test and p value <0.05 were considered to be significant.
Results: This study shows that the basic knowledge of anaemia and knowledge pertaining to treatment of anaemia is lacking in undergraduate students as compared to postgraduate students. However it was observed in both the study groups that knowledge about various aspects of anaemia is not optimal.
Conclusions: It is a need of hour to impart knowledge of common disorders including anemia to both undergraduate and postgraduate students for the larger benefit of society.
References
Stevens GA, Finucane MM, De-Regil LM, Paciorek CJ, Flaxman SR, Branca F, et al. Nutrition Impact Model Study Group. Global, regional, and national trends in haemoglobin concentration and prevalence of total and severe anaemia in children and pregnant and non-pregnant women for 1995–2011: a systematic analysis of population-representative data. The Lancet Global Health. 2013;1(1):e16-25.
Balarajan Y, Ramakrishnan U, Özaltin E, Shankar AH, Subramanian SV. Anaemia in low-income and middle-income countries. The Lancet. 2012;378(9809):2123-35.
Tolentino K, Friedman JF. An update on anemia in less developed countries. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene. 2007;77(1):44-51.
Worldwide prevalence of anaemia 1993-2005: WHO global database on anaemia. / Edited by Bruno de Benoist, Erin McLean, Ines Egli and Mary Cogswell - See more at: http://apps.who.int/ iris/ handle/ 10665/ 43894#sthash.22Pmr58G.dpuf
WHAT’S AT ST. Anaemia Policy Brief.
Stoltzfus RJ, Mullany L, Black RE. Iron deficiency anaemia. Comparative quantification of health risks: global and regional burden of disease attributable to selected major risk factors. 2004;1:163-209.
Haas JD, Brownlie T. Iron deficiency and reduced work capacity: a critical review of the research to determine a causal relationship. The Journal of nutrition. 2001;131(2):676S-90S.
Scholl TO, Hediger ML. Anemia and iron-deficiency anemia: compilation of data on pregnancy outcome. The American journal of clinical nutrition. 1994;59(2):492S-500S.
Engle Ma, Erlandson M, Smith Ch. Late cardiac complications of chronic, severe, refractory anemia with hemochromatosis. Circulation. 1964;30(5):698-705.
Haque AK, Gokhale S, Rampy BA, Adegboyega P, Duarte A, Saldana MJ. Pulmonary hypertension in sickle cell hemoglobinopathy: a clinicopathologic study of 20 cases. Human pathology. 2002;33(10):1037-43.
You D, New JR, Wardlaw T. Levels and trends in child mortality. Report 2012. Estimates developed by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation.
World Health Organization. United Nations Children's Fund, United Nations Population Fund, and World Bank. Trends in maternal mortality 1990 to 2010. Geneva: World Health Organization. 2010. 2012.
World Health Organization. Focusing on anaemia: towards an integrated approach for effective anaemia control. Joint statement by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund. WHO, Geneva, Switzerland. 2004.
Kassebaum NJ, Jasrasaria R, Naghavi M, Wulf SK, Johns N, Lozano R, et al. A systematic analysis of global anemia burden from 1990 to 2010. Blood. 2014;123(5):615-24.
