Efficacy and Demonstration of IntraVenous Iron for Anaemia in pregnancy – Implementation Science (EDIVA-IS)

Project Details

Anaemia in pregnant women is a severe public health problem, disproportionately affecting pregnant women in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). For example, 42.2% of pregnant women in Bangladesh experience anaemia in pregnancy compared to 11.5% of women in the United States of America. The standard of care to treat anaemia is oral iron and folic acid supplementation; however, adherence and coverage are low. Modern intravenous iron products are routinely used in high-income countries and present a novel opportunity to treat anaemia in LMICs.

Our project aims to test the real-world feasibility and acceptability of implementing an intravenous iron intervention to treat pregnant women with moderate and severe anaemia in the primary health care setting of Bangladesh.

Specifically, we aim to:

1. understand how maternal anaemia is currently managed in Bangladesh, and identify potential health system barriers and enablers to implementing an intravenous iron intervention;
2. co-design maternal anaemia screening and referral pathways, and culturally appropriate strategies with pregnant women, community members, and healthcare providers to inform the implementation of an intravenous iron intervention in primary care; and
3. implement and evaluate maternal anaemia screening and referral pathways and strategies to increase anaemia screening and intravenous iron treatment among pregnant women.

Project Resources

Researchers

• Dr Khic-Houy Prang (Australia) (Project Lead)
• Bidhan Krishan Sarker (Bangladesh) (Project Lead)
• Ebony Verbunt, PhD Candidate, University of Melbourne
• Hana Sabanovic, Research Assistant, University of Melbourne
• Professor Sant-Rayn Pasricha, Principal Investigator, WEHI
• Dr Jena Hamadani, Principal Investigator, icddr,b
• Dr Imrul Mohammed Hassan, Trial Manager, icddr,b
• Dr Eliza Davidson, Trial Manager, icddr,b
• Dr Alistair McLean, Trial Statistician, WEHI
• Dr Rebecca Harding, Trial Statistician, WEHI
• Sabine Braat, Senior Biostatistician, WEHI
• Phoebe Fitzpatrick, Data Manager, WEHI
• Naomi Von Dinklage, Program Coordinator, WEHI
• Bidhan Krishan Sarker, Implementation Science Researcher, icddr,b
• Dr Shamim Ahmed, Trial Manager, icddr,b
• Dr Quaiyum Rahman, Team Coordinator, icddr,b
• Dr Saiful Alam Bhuiyan, Team Coordinator, icddr,b
• Jahiduj Jaman, Data Team Coordinator, icddr,b

Collaborators

• WEHI, Australia
• International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b)

Funding

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation