Despite sufficient awareness, however, daily tablet intake during a prolonged period of time may continue to be unappealing to people, in part due to unpleasant side effects. Tablet intake on a weekly basis may be a promising alternative to improve the efficacy of supplementation programmes. Compliance may be increased, and the costs of the programme will be reduced. Even if, under experimental conditions, the increase in haemoglobin or serum ferritin concentration with weekly supplementation may be slightly lower than that with daily supplementation, the positive implications for large-scale interventions may compensate for this. Weekly intake was effective in improving the iron status of moderately anaemic children and non-pregnant women.
More research is necessary to investigate the effects of weekly supplementation in pregnant women.
Furthermore, the optimum amount and type of supplement should be investigated. Second report on the world nutrition situation. Global and regional results. Preventing and controlling iron deficiency anemia through primary health care. WHO sponsored collaborative studies on nutritional anaemia in India.