| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
|
| Year : 2018 | Volume
: 7
| Issue : 2 | Page : 49-54 |
|
|
Knowledge of the caregivers of thalassemic children regarding thalassemia: A cross-sectional study in a tertiary care health facility of eastern India
Bijit Biswas1, Narendra Nath Naskar2, Rivu Basu3, Aparajita Dasgupta1, Bobby Paul1, Keya Basu4
1 Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
2 Department of Public Health Administration, All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
3 Department of Community Medicine, R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
4 Department of Pathology, Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Bijit Biswas
Sarat Sarani More, G. T. Road, Bandel, Hooghly - 712 123, West Bengal
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/ijh.ijh_1_18
|
|
|
Background: Caregivers knowledge regarding thalassemia is one of the vital areas in the prevention of the disease. Studies related to caregivers knowledge and its sociodemographic predictors are very few in number which is helpful in designing interventions across different study settings.
Objectives: the study aimed to find out the knowledge level of caregivers of thalassemic children and its sociodemographic determinants.
Materials and Methods: It was a cross-sectional observational study conducted in a thalassemia day care unit of Eastern India. The study included 328 caregivers of thalassemic children attending thalassemia day care unit during May 2015–April 2016. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) (version 16).
Results: Out of 328 caregivers only 47.6% knew about genetic etiology of the disease, while only 52.4% and 50.9% knew about premarital counseling and antenatal screening, respectively. Regarding treatment of the disease, 75.9% knew that both blood transfusion and iron chelation are the treatment of thalassemia, while only 19.2% and 2.7% of them had knowledge regarding splenectomy and bone marrow transplantation, respectively. Only 52.7% had satisfactory knowledge regarding the disease. In multivariable model, caregivers educational level (adjusted odds ratio, AOR-3.13 [1.87–5.25]), working status (AOR-2.18 [1.23–3.86]), place of residence (AOR-2.05 [1.19–3.52]), and socioeconomic class (AOR-2.11 [1.25–3.58]) were significant predictors of their knowledge.
Conclusion: Caregivers' knowledge regarding thalassemia was not at all satisfactory. Regular counseling of caregivers should be done addressing the knowledge lacunae's among them. |
|
|
|
| [FULL TEXT] [PDF]* |
|
 |
|
