School Teachers Perspectives on National Iron Plus Initiative Implementation: A Qualitative Study
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Date
2025-06
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Indian Academy of Pediatrics
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To explore the school teachers' perspec?ves on factors affec?ng the implementa?on of Na?onal Iron Plus Ini?a?ve (NIPI). METHODS A qualita?ve par?cipatory study was conducted in six schools in rural areas of Telangana, involving free lis?ng, pile sor?ng, and force fi eld analysis. Analysis included frequency calcula?ons, mul?dimensional scaling, hierarchical cluster analysis, and thema?c analysis. RESULTS Fi?y four teachers par?cipated; 25 barriers and 14 enablers were iden?fied. Key barriers included lack of educa?on and health literacy, nega?ve a?tudes, lack of faith in public services, and unhygienic prac?ces. Major enablers were school-based anemia- related ac?vi?es, government awareness programs, and programma?c interven?ons. Force fi eld analysis revealed a?tudes and awareness gaps as significant barriers, while school-based ac?vi?es emerged as the primary enabler. CONCLUSION School-based interven?ons, addressing a?tudinal and educa?onal barriers, and adop?ng a holis?c approach are crucial for effec?ve anemia preven?on in rural se?ngs.
Description
Keywords
Anemia, Iron-deficiency, Health education, NIPI, Rural
Citation
Mishra Kumar Guru, Patnaik Nabnita, Pradhan Nihar Ranjan . School Teachers Perspectives on National Iron Plus Initiative Implementation: A Qualitative Study. Indian Pediatrics. 2025 Jun; 62(6): 421-427