ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: to explore anaemia-related perceptions and practices among pregnant women in Mumbai, India. DESIGN: descriptive qualitative study using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. SETTING: three government-run maternity hospitals in Mumbai, India. PARTICIPANTS: 31 pregnant women aged 18-33 years; three women completed higher secondary school; 28 were homemakers. FINDINGS: respondents described anaemia as 'lack of blood in the body' because that was the term used by health providers; yet they did not seem worried about the consequence on their own health. Women perceived anaemia as 'normal during pregnancy' because their body had to simply share resources with the fetus and every female relative had suffered from it during pregnancy. Respondents did recognise weakness and dizziness as symptoms of anaemia. They attributed the cause to a poor diet, but did not know the specific link with iron-deficiency. They listed various negative effects of anaemia on the fetus, but very few stated ill-effects on the mother, and none stated maternal death as an outcome. Women saw their role primarily as child-bearers and prioritised newborn's health over their own. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: anaemia stands at the intersection of health, nutrition, culture and gender. Interventions in the country have to go beyond distributing or monitoring compliance with iron-folic acid (IFA) supplements. Health education programmes for women and household members have to highlight the seriousness of anaemia and address socio-cultural norms and gendered behaviours in families with respect to nutrition and health. There is an urgent need in maternal and child health programmes to emphasise the importance of the mother's own health. Anaemia interventions have the potential to become proxies for women's health and empowerment programmes.
Subject(s)
Anemia, Iron-Deficiency/prevention & control , Patient Education as Topic , Pregnancy Complications, Hematologic/prevention & control , Adolescent , Adult , Anemia, Iron-Deficiency/nursing , Dietary Supplements , Female , Focus Groups , Humans , India , Interviews as Topic , Iron/administration & dosage , Midwifery , Pregnancy , Pregnancy Complications, Hematologic/nursing , Prenatal Care , Young AdultABSTRACT
Academic medical institutions have responded to recent changes and challenges confronting the health care system with various recommendations for curricular reform; many grouped under the rubric of interdisciplinary training. The ultimate goal is to create physicians, with mastery over specialized knowledge, who can practice cost-effective, humanized medicine. This article elaborates a conceptual classification system that categorizes curricular reform recommendations into one of two approaches ? Vitamins or Vaccines ? that highlights differences in the processes of curricular reform programs. Programs seeking the same goal may create different types of practitioners depending on the approach dominating the professional training and socialization process. The Vitamins approach is reactive, supplemental, and incremental, often imparting instruction instead of education. The Vaccines approach is proactive, addresses fundamental factors, and seeks long-term solutions from a preventive perspective. As educators, our choice of approach, Vitamins or Vaccines, for curricular reform will determine how academia prepares physicians for the future.