A QUASI EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON HEALTH EDUCATION INTERVENTION IN MANAGING PREGNANT WOMEN WITH ANAEMIA IN SEPANG, MALAYSIA: A STUDY PROTOCOL

ABSTRACT Background: Anaemia is a common health problem among pregnant women in Malaysia and has a significant health consequence to mother and their infants. The provision of iron supplements and an array of health educational strategies to pregnant women are the most widely practice in Malaysia public health measures. In Malaysia currently, the implementation of health education methods and materials on anaemia in pregnancy given to the antenatal mothers differ throughout the country. The aim of this study is to develop, implement and evaluate the effects of a theory-based health educational intervention on the haemoglobin level among anaemic pregnant women. Materials and Methods: This study uses a quasi-experimental study design and conceptualized based on the Health Belief Model (HBM). It will involve two groups of antenatal mothers (control and intervention) from two health clinics in the district of Sepang, Selangor. There will be 81 pregnant women with anaemia per group that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data will be collected using self-administered questionnaire. The primary outcome variable is differences in haemoglobin levels between the intervention and control groups in the third trimester. Secondary outcome include knowledge regarding anaemia, HBM constructs, dietary iron intake and level of compliance towards iron supplementation. Both groups will be receiving routine antenatal care and practice. Additionally, the intervention groups will be given a validated theory-based health education intervention on anaemia in pregnancy. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analysis will be performed. All hypotheses tests were two-sided and level of significance was set at 0.05. Discussion: If the theory based health education intervention is effective in improving the outcome for pregnant women with anaemia, this approach could be taken into consideration to improve the anaemia in pregnancy after further research. Keywords: Anaemia, Pregnancy, Health Belief Model, Health education Intervention