Imagine yourself as a community health nurse implementing your chosen DOH program related to

family health. Do you think the target population are adequately reached and involved in this program
during
this time of COVID-19 pandemic? Please justify your answer and suggest corrective actions, if needed.

Yes, since COVID-19 is the new out-breaking disease, characterized by pneumonia and acute
respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), with sepsis and eventually multi-organ failure. As a community
health nurse, I think Iron metabolism and anemia may play an important role in multiple organ
dysfunction syndrome in Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Iron deficiency anemia is the most common type of anemia in children. Iron is an element that is
needed to form hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is important in carrying oxygen from the lungs to the cells of
the body. The diagnosis and treatment of iron deficiency is important because iron deficiency causes
anemia and also affect a child’s neuro-psychological development. In adults, iron deficiency can also
have negative effects including fatigue, impaired physical performance and decreased work productivity,
as well as impacting social activities. Iron deficiency occurs mainly when the requirements of iron
increase during rapid periods of growth and development such as in early childhood, adolescence and
pregnancy, but it can occur at other stages in life. 

That’s why I chose to implement this IDA program or Iron Deficiency Anemia because anemia
could be the result of iron-restricted erythropoiesis arising from alterations in iron metabolism.
Increased ferritin levels could be indicative of a strong inflammatory reaction in COVID-19 or related to
viral entry into the human body and its impact on iron metabolism. Anemia, in turn, reduces oxygen
delivery to the tissue and may thus play an important role in the development of multi-organ failure.
Therefore, it is crucial to understand the relation between anemia, iron metabolism and progression of
COVID-19, and whether these associations differ by age, sex and presence of chronic conditions. I
speculated that in COVID-19, beyond the classical pulmonary immune-inflammation view, the
occurrence of an oxygen-deprived blood disease, with iron metabolism dysregulation, should be taken in
consideration. A more comprehensive diagnostic approach to COVID-19 is proposed, including potential
adjuvant interventions aimed at improving hemoglobin dysfunction, iron over-deposit. So it’s important
for everyone to have knowledge about the prevalence and distribution of iron deficiency and risk of
iron overload in the population because it helps our country to decide on appropriate interventions, and
to monitor and evaluate the impact and safety of public health programs especially now during
pandemic.