Objective:

Anaemia is a health problem for adolescents in India. This paper examines the nuanced transformations triggered by a multi-pronged, community-based anaemia intervention with adolescents and their families, seeking meaningful insights for future nutrition and anaemia programmes.

Design:

Qualitative study rooted in critical theory.

Setting:

Three slum communities – Dharavi and Kandivali (in Mumbai) and Kalwa (in Thane) in Maharashtra, India.

Methods:

Data were collected through focus-group discussions and in-depth interviews with young people, parents and other stakeholders. Content analysis of drawings of a nutritious food plate by participants supplemented discussion and interview data. Thematic analysis was undertaken manually using a grounded theory approach.

Findings:

Nutrition education with adolescents and parents led to reduced junk food consumption although reinforcement of the information provided was necessary to sustain the change. Parental support was a crucial factor in ensuring anaemia treatment compliance but was affected by a lack of awareness regarding the consequences of anaemia and the nutritional requirements of anaemic adolescents. Other factors, including the pampering of boys, the neglect of girls and the heavy workload of mothers influenced treatment compliance. Awareness and agency among adolescents contributed to a supportive environment in terms of raised consciousness and better sanitation within families and the community.

Conclusion:

Findings highlight the need for a holistic approach to address anaemia among young people. While nutrition and health education are important to address treatment noncompliance, this approach should also focus on factors such as socioeconomic status, gender equity, health prioritisation, family involvement and engaging young people as agents of change to promote an enabling environment.

中文翻译：

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解决脆弱的印度城市社区的青少年贫血：定性探索

目的：

贫血是印度青少年的健康问题。本文研究了由青少年和他们的家庭进行的多管齐下的社区贫血干预引发的细微变化，为未来的营养和贫血计划寻求有意义的见解。

设计：

定性研究扎根于批判理论。

设置：

三个贫民窟社区–印度马哈拉施特拉邦的Dharavi和Kandivali（在孟买）和Kalwa（在Thane）。

方法：

通过焦点小组讨论和与年轻人，父母和其他利益相关者的深入访谈收集了数据。参与者对营养食品板的图纸进行内容分析，补充了讨论和访谈数据。主题分析是使用扎根的理论方法手动进行的。

发现：

对青少年和父母的营养教育减少了垃圾食品的消费，尽管必须加强所提供的信息以维持这种变化。父母的支持是确保贫血治疗依从性的关键因素，但由于对贫血后果和贫血青少年的营养需求缺乏了解而受到影响。其他因素，包括对男孩的纵容，对女孩的疏忽和母亲的繁重工作量，都影响了治疗依从性。青少年的意识和行动能力在家庭和社区内提高意识和改善卫生条件方面为支持性环境做出了贡献。

结论：

研究结果突出表明，需要采取整体方法来解决年轻人中的贫血。尽管营养和健康教育对于解决不合规的治疗很重要，但这种方法还应侧重于诸如社会经济地位，性别平等，健康优先，家庭参与以及让年轻人作为促进发展有利环境的变革推动者之类的因素。