Public Perceptions and Attitudes of Bangladeshi Population towards Thalassemia Prevention: A Nationwide Study
Background: Thalassemia is one of the most common life-threatening yet preventable congenital hemoglobin disorders especially in South Asian regions like Bangladesh. It has become a rising public health concern for Bangladesh as 6-12% of the population are carriers and many of them are unaware of it. The purpose of the study is to inspect the knowledge and attitude towards thalassemia among the general people of Bangladesh.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in eight administrative regions of Bangladesh between January and October of 2020. A self-administrative close-ended questionnaire was designed to collect information about thalassemia and socio-demographic characteristics. Pearson’s chi-square (χ2) test and One-way ANOVA were performed to assess the association between the demographic variables with knowledge and practice regarding thalassemia. A p-value <0.05 was considered significant.
Results: Of the 1623 participants, only 44.7% (726/1623) had heard of thalassemia. The mean knowledge of thalassemia was scored 4.75 ± 2.05 out of a total possible score of 10. Half of the participants had no idea that thalassemia was not a transfusion transmitted disease. About 73.1% knew that blood tests are a diagnosis process to determine thalassemia. The urban residing participants had the highest (5.10 ± 1.99) and participants with primary education had the lowest (3.38 ± 1.37) mean score of knowledge. Participants' knowledge score varied significantly by marital status, living pace, literacy and occupation (p< 0.05). However, about 68.2% and 85.5% of the participants showed a positive attitude towards premarital screening of themselves or their family members and donating blood to thalassemia patients, respectively.
Conclusion: The study shows that there is a need to disseminate the information on thalassemia since the knowledge gap is huge among people. These findings will assist the implementation of significant steps such as educational programs, health counseling, premarital screening, campaigning, etc. to increase the awareness of thalassemia.
Figure 1
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Posted 05 Jan, 2021
On 27 Dec, 2020
On 27 Dec, 2020
On 27 Dec, 2020
On 26 Dec, 2020
Public Perceptions and Attitudes of Bangladeshi Population towards Thalassemia Prevention: A Nationwide Study
Posted 05 Jan, 2021
On 27 Dec, 2020
On 27 Dec, 2020
On 27 Dec, 2020
On 26 Dec, 2020
Background: Thalassemia is one of the most common life-threatening yet preventable congenital hemoglobin disorders especially in South Asian regions like Bangladesh. It has become a rising public health concern for Bangladesh as 6-12% of the population are carriers and many of them are unaware of it. The purpose of the study is to inspect the knowledge and attitude towards thalassemia among the general people of Bangladesh.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in eight administrative regions of Bangladesh between January and October of 2020. A self-administrative close-ended questionnaire was designed to collect information about thalassemia and socio-demographic characteristics. Pearson’s chi-square (χ2) test and One-way ANOVA were performed to assess the association between the demographic variables with knowledge and practice regarding thalassemia. A p-value <0.05 was considered significant.
Results: Of the 1623 participants, only 44.7% (726/1623) had heard of thalassemia. The mean knowledge of thalassemia was scored 4.75 ± 2.05 out of a total possible score of 10. Half of the participants had no idea that thalassemia was not a transfusion transmitted disease. About 73.1% knew that blood tests are a diagnosis process to determine thalassemia. The urban residing participants had the highest (5.10 ± 1.99) and participants with primary education had the lowest (3.38 ± 1.37) mean score of knowledge. Participants' knowledge score varied significantly by marital status, living pace, literacy and occupation (p< 0.05). However, about 68.2% and 85.5% of the participants showed a positive attitude towards premarital screening of themselves or their family members and donating blood to thalassemia patients, respectively.
Conclusion: The study shows that there is a need to disseminate the information on thalassemia since the knowledge gap is huge among people. These findings will assist the implementation of significant steps such as educational programs, health counseling, premarital screening, campaigning, etc. to increase the awareness of thalassemia.
Figure 1