title: Directly observed iron supplementation for control of iron deficiency anemia.
abstract: Anemia is major public health problem affecting 1.6 billion people worldwide. The poor compliance of iron supplementation remains main contributor for high prevalence of anemia. The current paper reviewed the effectiveness of direct observation of oral iron supplementation on anemia. A systematic search was performed through electronic databases and local libraries. Search strategies used subject headings and key words "directly observed" and "iron supplementation." Searches were sought through April 2014. A total of 14 articles were included in the study. Findings were presented in three categories. First, all of those reported an improvement in compliance of iron supplementation. Second, reduction in the prevalence of anemia was reported by all and third, all except one reported increased blood hemoglobin level. Directly observed an iron supplementation is an effective approach for prevention and management of anemia in vulnerable groups. However, larger trials are needed before concluding that scaling up directly observed iron supplementation through community health volunteers would be beneficial.
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Public Health and Epidemiology, IIHMR University, Jaipur; Senior Resident, Centre for Community Medicine, All Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Mohan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bairwa
authors.affiliation: Junior Resident, Centre for Community Medicine, All Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Farhad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ahamed
authors.affiliation: Senior Program Officer, ICCIDD New Delhi and Assistant Professor, AIIMS, Rishikesh, ICCIDD, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Smita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sinha
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Centre for Community Medicine, All Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Kapil
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yadav
authors.affiliation: Professor, Centre for Community Medicine, All Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Shashi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kant
authors.affiliation: Professor and Head, Centre for Community Medicine, All Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Chandrakant S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Pandav
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D018798:Anemia, Iron-Deficiency / Q000188:drug therapy*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D023801:Directly Observed Therapy; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000008:administration & dosage*
chemical_list: D007501:Iron