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Background: Weekly iron–folic acid (WIFA) supplementation programs are widely implemented to overcome anemia in adolescent girls. Their effectiveness is often constrained by low compliance, and evidence on the impact of nutrition education from rigorous studies remains limited.
Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted in four senior high schools in Cianjur from February to July 2025. Schools were non-randomly assigned to the control or intervention group, while participants were selected within each school using simple random sampling to reduce selection bias. In total, 112 adolescent girls were enrolled (control n=55, intervention n=57). Data on socioeconomic characteristics, knowledge, and attitudes were obtained through structured questionnaires. Compliance with weekly iron–folic acid (WIFA) supplementation was monitored using self-completed cards, and hemoglobin levels were measured from finger-prick samples. The intervention comprised TikTok-based nutrition education, supervised WIFA intake, and six months of compliance monitoring, followed by a 12-week post-intervention follow-up. Statistical analyses used a significance level of p<0.05 Results: At baseline, the intervention and control groups were largely comparable, with only non-significant differences in school type, sociodemographic characteristics, and knowledge (p>0.05). Post-intervention, knowledge increased significantly in the intervention group compared with the control group (p<0.001), while attitudes remained high in both groups. During the intervention, compliance did not differ significantly between groups (p>0.05), but follow-up showed higher compliance in the intervention group (81.7±13.8% vs. 68.8±12.4%; p<0.001), suggesting a delayed effect of the intervention.
Conclusion: Knowledge of Nutrition education improved and sustained compliance to WIFA supplementation. However, its limited effect on attitudes. These findings support the integration of education and behavioral support into adolescent nutrition programs in areas with high stunting rates.
