{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,5]],"date-time":"2026-02-05T07:07:01Z","timestamp":1770275221962,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,27]],"date-time":"2025-03-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1743033600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Digit. Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title><jats:p>Anemia continues to be a problem among adolescent girls, including in Indonesia. Although the Weekly Iron-Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFAS) program was introduced in 2014, adherence remains a challenge. The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of WhatsApp (WA) reminder messages in improving knowledge and adherence to WIFAS among adolescent girls in the Salahutu Sub-District, Maluku Province.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>A quasi-experimental design was employed in 2024, utilizing a pretest-posttest control group framework across two senior high schools in Salahutu Sub-District. The intervention school (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u200949) received WA-based reminder messages for four weeks, while the control school (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u200942) continued to receive routine services. We used Mann\u2013Whitney, Fisher Exact and chi-square tests in this analysis.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>The WA-based intervention led to a significant improvement in knowledge scores among adolescent girls from the intervention school (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009<jats:italic>&amp;lt;<\/jats:italic>\u2009<jats:italic>0.001<\/jats:italic>). These students were also more likely to have taken WIFAS in the week preceding the endline survey (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009<jats:italic>&amp;lt;<\/jats:italic>\u2009<jats:italic>0.001<\/jats:italic>) and to have consumed at least 75% of the distributed WIFAS (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009<jats:italic>=<\/jats:italic>\u2009<jats:italic>0.015<\/jats:italic>) compared to the control school. Furthermore, the mean hemoglobin levels were significantly higher in the intervention compared to the control school (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009<jats:italic>=<\/jats:italic>\u2009<jats:italic>0.001<\/jats:italic>).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title><jats:p>The WA-based reminder messages were effective in enhancing knowledge and adherence to WIFAS. Expanding this approach to a broader population is recommended before scaling up implementation across Maluku and other regions in Indonesia.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fdgth.2025.1542006","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,27]],"date-time":"2025-03-27T11:21:17Z","timestamp":1743074477000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["The effect of WhatsApp-based reminders on enhancing knowledge and adherence to weekly iron-folic acid supplementation among adolescent girls in Maluku, Indonesia"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"7","author":[{"given":"Mega Clarita","family":"Laurence","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Christiana Rialine","family":"Titaley","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Ritha","family":"Tahitu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Elpira","family":"Asmin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Nathalie Elischeva","family":"Kailola","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Sean Semuel","family":"Istia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Yudhie Djuhastidar","family":"Tando","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Lershito Antonio","family":"Pasamba","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Liyani Sartika","family":"Sara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","volume-title":"Anemia","author":"Turner","year":"2024"},{"key":"B2","volume-title":"Iron Deficiency Anemia","author":"Warner","year":"2024"},{"key":"B3","volume-title":"Guidelines for Administering Blood Supplement Tablets for Adolescent Girls During the COVID-19 Pandemic for Health Workers [Pedoman Pemberian Tablet Tambah Darah (TTD) Bagi Remaja Putri Pada Masa Pandemi COVID-19 Bagi Tenaga 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