Effect Of Home Visits by Nurses on Hemoglobin Levels Of 6-Month-Old Infants. A Nonrandomized Controlled Trial

OpenAlex İngilizce

ABSTRACT Background: Iron-deficiency anemia has a high prevalence among infants across the world including our country and contributes substantially to the global burden of disease. Therefore, it is a priority to develop preventive strategies to protect and promote infant health. This study sought to investigate the effect of home visits for 3 months by nurses on the hemoglobin levels of 6-month-old infants measured at 9 months. Methods: This study adopted a quasi-experimental design in accordance with the TREND (Transparent Reporting of Evaluations with Nonrandomized Designs) checklist. The study sample consisted of 100 6-month-old infants, 50 in the intervention group and 50 in the control group. Infants in the intervention group received home visits three times in total, once every month. Control group infants received routine care. Data were collected using the questionnaire form and home monitoring and care form for 6–9-month-old infants. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, chi-square test, and Fisher’s exact test. Results: Mean hemoglobin levels were higher in infants in the intervention group compared with that of the control group (p < 0.05). Hemoglobin levels were <11 g/dL in 48.0% of the infants in the intervention group and 68.0% of the infants in the control group (p < 0.05). Conclusions: This study showed that iron-deficiency anemia remains a serious public health concern in the infants included in the study and home visits by nurses are effective in protection against and prevention of iron-deficiency anemia. Further research is warranted to gather a more robust evidence base. Keyswords: 6-Month-Old Infants, Nurse, Home Visit, Hemoglobin, Iron-Deficiency Anemia.