Clinical and administrative nursing intervention in the management of nutritional status and childhood anemia: a quasi-experimental study

Abstract

Introduction: Anemia and impaired nutritional status remain relevant problems in early childhood and require interventions combining clinical care, family education, and organized follow-up. Objective: To evaluate changes in hemoglobin, anemia, anthropometric indicators, and continuity of care after a clinical and administrative nursing intervention in children aged 6–59 months. Methods: A quasi-experimental pretest–posttest study was structured with 120 children receiving primary care. The 12-week intervention integrated anthropometric and hematologic assessment, dietary counseling, monitoring of iron supplementation, risk stratification, scheduled follow-up, recovery of missed appointments, and referral coordination. Results: Mean hemoglobin increased from 10.62±1.04 to 11.34±0.92 g/dL, mean difference 0.72 g/dL, 95% CI 0.59–0.85; p<0.001. Anemia decreased from 55.0% to 28.3%, together with improvements in weight-for-age, weight-for-height, iron adherence, and timely attendance at follow-up visits. Height-for-age showed a smaller change, consistent with the short follow-up period. Conclusions: A nursing model integrating clinical and administrative components may improve both clinical outcomes and continuity of care. Causal interpretation should remain cautious because of the absence of a control group, and the findings must be confirmed with empirical data and comparative designs.