Exploration of psychosocial and environmental factors that could improve the consumption of iron-rich foods among urban Senegalese adolescent girls.

INTRODUCTION

anaemia remains a public health issue among adolescent Senegalese girls, and one cause is the low consumption of iron-rich foods. This study used the extended model of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to explore psychosocial factors and environmental barriers that may influence the daily consumption of iron-rich foods (IRF) among urban Senegalese adolescent girls.

METHODS

a cross-sectional survey was conducted among 136 girls (13-18 years). Salient beliefs related to each construct of the theory were identified. Using this information, a questionnaire was developed to collect data on each construct and the intention to consume IRF daily.

RESULTS

on a scale of -2 to 2, the mean score of the intention was 1.39 ± 0.74 while average scores of direct constructs were 1.60 ± 0.89 for the attitude, 1.29 ± 0.84, for the subjective norm, 0.82 ± 0.91 for the perceived behavioral control, and -0.14 ± 0.86 for the environmental barriers. Overall, 34% of girls reported that it was likely that implementing the behavior would make them gain weight while more than 80% stated that their father/mother/sisters would approve the behavior. Also, 38% of girls did not feel able to perform the behavior if they were not capable of preparing IRF themselves. Half agreed that the high price of these foods was a barrier to their consumption.

CONCLUSION

most adolescent girls intend to consume IRF. To operationalize the intention into a concrete behavior, interventions increasing self-efficacy and improving knowledge about IRF, and their affordability and accessibility could be relevant.