Abstract :
Objectives: To explore the knowledge of the parents of thalassemic children, their attitude towards the prevention of birth of thalassemic children and practices followed by them in relation to treatment adherence.
Materials and Methods : Parents of 100 patients of Thalassemia, who were coming regularly for blood transfusion in Thalassemia day care centre at Rajindra Hospital, Patiala from January 2011 to Nov 2012, were interviewed regarding their knowledge about the inheritance and types of Thalassemia, prenatal diagnosis, various treatment options available and practices followed by them on a predesigned questionnaire. The variables were compared by Chi square test and results so obtained were analyzed using SPSS version 15 statistically.
Results: Knowledge of parents regarding importance of Ferritin levels, role of chelation therapy and Bone marrow transplantation in relation to age and sex of patients, their socioeconomic status was found statistically significant. Relation between knowledge of parents and treatment adherence, knowledge and attitude towards prevention of disease were found stastically significant. Relation of knowledge about treatment options available and effect on growth, behavior and studies was not found statistically significant.
Conclusion: A significant correlation has been found between knowledge about disease, treatment options available and prenatal diagnosis with treatment adherence and prevention of disease in future pregnancies.
Key Message: Community awareness programmes regarding Thalassemia and genetic councelling in high risk communities is the need of the hour.
Keyword :
Red blood cells, Hemoglobin