Knowledge, attitude and practices of general female population towards iron deficiency anemia in Aljouf, Saudi Arabia

Background: 
Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is a major public health issue in all countries. Considering the link between IDA and lack of suitable knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP), IDA could be prevented. Thus, this study aimed to determine the awareness and management of IDA among general female population in Aljouf region, Saudi Arabia.
Methods: 
This was a cross-sectional study conducted among females in general population of Saudi Arabia from Aug – Oct' 2022. Data were collected from participants through online self-administered questionnaire via Google Form. A convenient non-probability sampling technique was used to select the study participants. 
Results: 
A total of 382 participants were involved in this study. Most of the participants were aged between 26 to 30 years (43.5%) and majority of them were graduated. It was found that the mean knowledge score was 12.4 ± 5.5 points and the highest proportion of participants had poor knowledge (76.2%). Doctor or healthcare professionals were the main source of knowledge about IDA. Regarding attitude and practice, iron supplements/tablets were prescribed to 40.3% of the participants however, most of them (31.7%) occasionally followed the recommended dose of iron supplement. Furthermore, it was found that age, nationality, marital status, number of children, occupation and monthly income were significantly associated with knowledge about IDA (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: 
General female population in Aljouf region in Saudi Arabia had inadequate knowledge, negative attitude and practice towards IDA. Several socio demographic variables were found to be significantly associated with knowledge about IDA.