ANEMIA EDUCATION AS AN APPROACH TO ENHANCING COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGE AT MUMBULSARI PRIMARY HEALTH CENTER, JEMBER

Abstract

Anemia is a health problem that is still prevalent in rural communities, including the working area of Mumbulsari Health Center. The lack of knowledge regarding the symptoms, causes, and prevention methods of anemia is a contributing factor to the high incidence of the disease. In order to increase knowledge about anemia, counselling was provided to Posyandu mothers in Suco Village, which falls under the jurisdiction of Mumbulsari Health Center. The counselling method was conducted thru face-to-face education with the assistance of leaflets and posters, accompanied by pre- and post-tests related to aspects of understanding, causes, symptoms, impacts, prevention of anemia, and how to consume iron tablets. Data were analyzed descriptively using percentages. The pre-test results showed that the majority of participants had low to moderate knowledge in almost all measured aspects, especially regarding the impact of anemia and habits that affect iron absorption. After the counselling, there was an increase in knowledge across most aspects, such as the definition and prevalence of anemia (30%), the causes of anemia (27%), the symptoms of anemia (53%), ways to prevent anemia (24%), and the rules for taking iron supplements (33%). The follow-up recommendation is that anemia education should be implemented continuously to achieve maximum results.