Abstract
Background
The Haitian National Nutrition Policy prioritizes prevention and treatment of anemia among mothers and young children, but there are few available data to support planning for scale-up of anemia interventions.
Objective
To describe the prevalence and predictors of anemia among Haitian women (15 to 49 years) and children (6 to 59 months) and to draw implications for national nutrition programming.
Methods
Descriptive and univariate analyses and multivariate logistic regression models were performed using data from the nationally representative Haitian Demographic Health Survey 2005/06.
Results
The prevalence of mild (hemoglobin 11.0 to 11.9 g/dL), moderate (hemoglobin 8.0 to 10.9 g/dL), and severe (hemoglobin < 8.0 g/dL) anemia was 19.2%, 21.7%, and 4.4%, respectively, among women aged 15 to 49 years and 22.9%, 33.9%. and 2.2% among children aged 6 to 59 months. Unexpectedly, anemia was more prevalent in urban women (54.4 %) and children (65.1%) than in rural women (43.1%, p < .001) and children (55.7%, p = .004). In multivariate regression models, factors associated with anemia among urban women (birth spacing, p = .027; overweight BMI, p < .001; education level, p = .022) were different from those in rural women (wealth quintile, p < .05; employment, p = .003). Anemia in urban and rural children aged 6 to 59 months increased with child age (p < .05) and maternal anemia status (p = .004; p < .001). Female sex (p = .007) and maternal overweight (p = .009) were associated with reduced risk of anemia in rural children only.
Conclusions
Anemia among Haitian young children and women of childbearing age is a severe public health problem. The findings suggest the need for context-specific rural and urban strategies, reinforcement of anemia prevention in health services reaching women of childbearing age, and targeted interventions for young children.