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Knowledge, Attitude and Practice About the Use of Mobile Health Application in Diagnosis of Anemia Among Women Population

This cross-sectional study of 400 women at a medical college reveals that while anemia awareness is consistent across socioeconomic groups, age and socioeconomic status significantly influence perceptions and acceptance of mobile health applications for diagnosis, highlighting the need for user-friendly tools to improve health outcomes.

Original authors: Niveditha B, Naveena S S, Akila Ganesh, Nanda Balan I, Divyambika C. V

Published 2026-07-01

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CC BY 4.0

Original authors: Niveditha B, Naveena S S, Akila Ganesh, Nanda Balan I, Divyambika C. V

Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). ✨ This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer

The Big Picture: A Digital Stethoscope for Anemia

Imagine anemia (a lack of healthy red blood cells) as a silent thief. It steals energy and health from women, often going unnoticed until it causes big problems. Usually, catching this thief requires a visit to a doctor and a prick of the finger for a blood test.

This study asks a simple question: Could a mobile phone app be a "digital stethoscope" that helps women catch this thief faster and easier?

The researchers wanted to know if women in India know about anemia, how they feel about using a phone app to diagnose it, and if they would actually use one. They didn't just ask "Do you have a phone?" They asked, "Would you trust a phone to tell you if you are sick?"

The Cast of Characters (The Study)

The Players: 400 women, aged 18 to 60, visiting a medical college. Think of them as a cross-section of the community, from busy moms to working women.
The Tool: A 20-question survey (like a menu of choices) asking about their knowledge, feelings, and habits regarding anemia and technology.
The Setting: The study took place between December 2025 and February 2026 (a future-dated study in the text).

What They Found: The Three Pillars

The researchers looked at three things: Knowledge (What do you know?), Attitude (How do you feel?), and Practice (What would you do?).

1. Knowledge: Everyone Knows the Name of the Thief

The Finding: Almost everyone (96%) knew what anemia was. They knew it was a real problem, mostly affecting women, and that it makes you feel tired.
The Twist: While they knew what anemia was, many weren't sure how to diagnose it with a phone. About half of them thought a phone app couldn't possibly replace a blood test.
Analogy: It's like everyone knowing that a car has an engine (Knowledge), but only a few believing that a smartphone app could tell you exactly how much oil is in the engine without opening the hood (Diagnosis).

2. Attitude: The "Wait and See" Crowd

The Finding: Women were split on whether they liked the idea.
- The Skeptics: Many were unsure if the app would be accurate. They worried, "Will the phone lie to me?"
- The Optimists: Some loved the idea of getting results faster than waiting for a lab.
The Age Gap: This is where the story gets interesting.
- Younger women felt like they were born with a smartphone in their hand. They were comfortable with the idea.
- Older women felt like they were trying to learn a new language. They were less comfortable and more hesitant.
The Socioeconomic Gap:
- Women with higher income and status felt more confident using the tech.
- Women with lower income were just as aware of anemia, but they felt less comfortable using the technology. It wasn't that they didn't know about the disease; it was that the tool felt foreign to them.

3. Practice: The Need for a Guide

The Finding: If you handed a woman a phone with this app, most said, "I need a nurse to hold my hand while I do it."
- 70% said they needed a nurse to guide them.
- Only a small number said they could figure it out alone.
The Barrier: It wasn't that they couldn't afford a phone (most already had one); it was that they were afraid they wouldn't understand the instructions or that the results would be wrong.
The Wishlist: If they were going to use an app, they wanted it to:
- Speak their local language (not just English).
- Use colorful pictures of food (like spinach or lentils) instead of long, boring text.
- Be simple and fast.

The "Aha!" Moments (Key Takeaways)

Awareness is High, Confidence is Low: The women knew they were at risk for anemia, but they didn't trust the phone to tell them if they had it.
Age and Money Matter: Younger, wealthier women were the "early adopters" ready to try the app. Older and poorer women were the "cautious observers" who needed more help.
The Human Touch is Essential: The study found that technology alone isn't enough. The women wanted a human guide (a nurse or family member) to help them navigate the app.
Design Matters: The app needs to be built like a friendly neighbor, not a complex computer manual. It needs pictures, local language, and simple steps.

What the Authors Recommend

The researchers suggest that if the government and doctors want to use these apps, they can't just launch them and hope for the best. They need to:

Train the Helpers: Teach nurses and family members how to use the app so they can guide the women.
Make it Simple: Design the app with big fonts, local languages, and pictures.
Build Trust: Prove that the app is accurate so women stop worrying it will give the wrong answer.
Reach Out: Go door-to-door to explain that this new tool is there to help, not to confuse.

The Bottom Line

This study is like a map showing where the roadblocks are. It tells us that while women are ready to fight anemia, they are scared of the new "digital weapon" (the app). They don't need a more powerful app; they need a simpler app and a friendly guide to show them how to use it. If we give them that, the app could become a powerful tool to catch the "silent thief" of anemia before it steals too much health.

Technical Summary: Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice About the Use of Mobile Health Application in Diagnosis of Anemia Among Women Population

Problem Statement
Anemia remains a prevalent and debilitating nutritional deficiency disease, particularly affecting women of reproductive age (15–49 years) and children globally. Despite its significance, the condition is often overlooked, necessitating non-invasive, efficient, and continuous monitoring methods to improve health outcomes. While Mobile Health (mHealth) applications offer potential for faster and more accurate diagnosis, their practical feasibility in routine healthcare is constrained by existing social and economic backgrounds. There is a critical gap in understanding the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) of the general women population regarding the use of mobile applications for anemia diagnosis, specifically within the context of varying socioeconomic statuses and age groups in India.

Methodology
The study employed a cross-sectional questionnaire-based descriptive survey design conducted between December 2025 and February 2026 at a Medical College in Tamil Nadu, India.

Participants: The study included 400 women patients (outpatient and inpatient) aged 18–60 years. Participants were stratified by age (18–30, 31–40, 41–50, 51–60) and socioeconomic status using the Modified Kuppuswamy scale (updated for 2025).
Instrument: A structured, self-administered 20-item questionnaire was developed to assess KAP regarding anemia and mobile app usage. The tool underwent rigorous validation, including face validation by 15 experts and content validation using Lawshe's Content Validity Ratio (CVR), resulting in a final tool with an Item-Content Validity Index (I-CVI) of 1.00.
Reliability: Internal consistency was assessed via Cronbach's alpha during a pilot study (n=25), yielding a value >0.83.
Data Analysis: Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22. Descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages) summarized responses. Inferential statistics, specifically the Chi-square test, were applied to evaluate associations between demographic variables (age, socioeconomic status) and KAP outcomes.

Key Contributions

Demographic Stratification: The study provides specific insights into how age and socioeconomic status influence the acceptance and perceived utility of mHealth tools for anemia diagnosis, moving beyond general population assumptions.
Validation of mHealth in Low-Resource Contexts: It investigates the feasibility of mHealth adoption among populations with lower socioeconomic status and literacy levels, a demographic often underrepresented in digital health literature.
User-Centric Design Requirements: The research identifies specific functional and content requirements for anemia diagnosis apps, such as the need for regional language support, visual aids (images of nutritional supplements), and the integration of nurse guidance.

Results

Knowledge: 95.8% of participants were aware of anemia. However, only 27.5% responded positively to the possibility of using a mobile app for diagnosis, while 55.25% disagreed.
Attitude: 50.7% of participants were unsure about the adaptability of new technology. While 33.8% considered using an app as an alternative to blood examination for initial diagnosis if expectations were met, 53.8% remained unsure about the accuracy of app-generated results.
Practice: 70% of participants felt a need for a nurse to guide them in using the app. 72.3% were willing to recommend the app to others if found informative. Financial constraints were a minor barrier (4%), but difficulty in understanding the app (21.3%) and doubts about accuracy (53.8%) were significant.
Statistical Associations:
- Age: A statistically significant association was found between age group and awareness of anemia ( $p < 0.001$ ), opinion on the usefulness of apps ( $p < 0.001$ ), and comfort in using apps ( $p = 0.0002$ ). Younger participants demonstrated higher comfort and positive perceptions.
- Socioeconomic Status (SES): While awareness of anemia was consistent across SES groups ( $p = 0.282$ ), there was a significant association between SES and the perceived usefulness ( $p = 0.0001$ ) and comfort in using apps ( $p = 0.0001$ ). Higher SES groups showed greater acceptance and comfort.
- Correlations: Awareness of anemia was significantly associated with a positive attitude toward app usefulness ( $p < 0.0001$ ). However, anemia awareness did not significantly correlate with the perceived need for nurse guidance ( $p = 0.711$ ) or the willingness to recommend the app to others ( $p = 0.081$ ).

Significance and Claims
The paper claims that while the target population is well-informed about the disorder of anemia, the adoption of mobile health technology is hindered by digital literacy gaps, trust issues regarding accuracy, and the need for human support (nurse guidance). The study posits that older adults and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are willing to use user-friendly, accurate, and non-ambiguous mobile apps, provided these barriers are addressed.

The authors emphasize that successful implementation requires a "patient-centric" approach where developers act as social scientists, incorporating features like regional languages, visual aids, and voice-enabled tools. The study concludes that addressing these specific concerns through training, digital literacy sessions, and government support is pivotal for developing a successful mHealth model for anemia diagnosis. The paper modestly notes that its findings represent a "bird's eye view" and calls for future qualitative research and expanded studies to generalize results further.