Effectiveness of Structured Teaching Programme on Knowledge and Attitude Regarding Weekly Iron Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFS) Among Adolescents in Selected Schools in Wayanad

Abstract

In 2012, the Government of India, through the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has initiated the Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFS) programme, to effectively tackle the alarming rise of nutritional anaemia among our teenage boys and girls. This research, titled "Assessing the Efficiency of an Organized Instructional Approach on the WIFS Programme among Adolescents in Selected Schools Wayanad," examined the effects of a Structured Teaching Program (STP) on adolescents' knowledge and attitudes regarding WIFS. Specifically, the research aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the STP in improving adolescents' understanding of WIFS and shaping their attitudes towards it. Furthermore, the study explored the relationship between adolescents' knowledge and attitudes about WIFS and certain demographic characteristics. Also, it examined the relationship between adolescents' understanding of WIFS and their attitudes towards it. Using a ‘quasi-experimental pre-test-post-test’ design, the study involved one group of participants. An adolescent sample of 150 was selected by convenience sampling. A ‘structured questionnaire’ assessed knowledge, and a ‘Likert scale’ was used to measure attitudes towards the WIFS program. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the collected data and according to the study's results, knowledge and attitude scores improved significantly after the STP. The mean post-test attitude score (31.91) and knowledge score (14.57) were significantly higher compared to the pretest attitude score (26.13) and knowledge score (6.52). The study found no significant association between pretest attitude and gender, mother's education, or father's education. However, pretest knowledge did show a significant association between gender and the mother's education level. Pretest knowledge and attitude regarding WIFS were not significantly correlated. In contrast, post-test knowledge and attitude scores were significantly correlated. As a result, the structured teaching program enhanced adolescents' knowledge and improved their attitudes regarding iron and folic acid supplementation.