HYDERABAD: A study by the Indian Council of Medical Research–National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR–NIN) has found that a population-based ‘Screen and Treat for Anaemia Reduction’ (STAR) strategy is more effective in reducing anaemia among women of reproductive age and adolescent girls than existing national programmes.
Published in the BMJ Global Health journal, the study was conducted in 14 villages of Telangana and assessed a population-level approach in which individuals aged six months to 50 years were actively screened for anaemia at the community level and provided iron-folic acid (IFA) supplementation at their doorstep based on haemoglobin status. The cluster-randomised trial compared the STAR strategy with routine services offered under existing national programmes.
Dr Bharati Kulkarni, director, ICMR–NIN, said, “Under the Anaemia Mukt Bharat programme, India primarily relies on prophylactic IFA supplementation and opportunistic, facility-based screening, largely focused on pregnant women. However, the reach of this approach remains limited.”
The STAR strategy group comprised 6,131 participants, while the control group had 5,255 participants. In intervention clusters, participants were mobilised at locations within 200 m of their homes, where an auto-analyser connected to an uninterrupted 3 kVA power supply was installed for haemoglobin estimation which was carried out at point of care using a portable auto-analyser with pooled capillary blood samples. Anaemic participants received therapeutic IFA doses, while non-anaemic individuals were given prophylactic doses as per national guidelines.
The study reported a 15.3% reduction in anaemia among adolescent girls aged 10–19 years and a 4.4% decline among women of reproductive age.