Iron Folic Acid (IFA) Supplementation in Schools for Adolescents: Barriers and Support Factors

Abstract

Weekly iron and folic acid supplementation in schools is considered an effective measure to increase hemoglobin levels and has been adopted as one of the national health policies. In addition, the school-based weekly iron and folic acid supplementation program aims to improve compliance and reduce the possibility of side effects without reducing effectiveness. Increasing the WIFAS (weekly iron folic acid supplementation) program to reach larger populations are a challenge in some developing countries. Preferred Reporting Items for Review Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) was used to review articles not earlier than 2019 for scientific reports in English. The navigation terms used are supplementationIron Folic Acid; adolescents, ten criteria of the paper meet the criteria for assessment. By identifying the barriers in the weekly IFA (iron folic acid) tablet supplementation program, supporting factors will be found to reduce the barriers of the WIFAS program appropriately. Low knowledge and compliance of adolescents, lack of teacher participation in health education and supervision of IFA consumption are the barriers found. Providing health education by combining several media and methods accompanied by supervision by peers or teachers during IFA consumption has succeeded in increasing the knowledge, attitudes, intentions, motivations, and behavior of adolescents in taking IFA tablets, ultimately reducing anemia. It is hoped that the results of this review can be usedas a way to increase the coverage of weekly supplementation programs in schools.