Zafar Zaheer, Qamruz Zaman, Basharat Hameed, Saima Wazir, Muhammad Iqbal.
Knowledge, attitude and practices with relevance to thalassemia.
J Med Sci Jan ;23(2):109-12.

Objective: Assessing Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in relation to Thalassemia. Material and Methods: Cross-sectional survey is conducted in Fatmeed foundation and Hamza Foundation of Peshawar from May 2012 to September 2012 with the help of structured questionnaire and interviews. Self-designed questionnaire is used to determine the demographics of the patients and gauge their knowledge and practices related to Thalassemia. However, questionnaire developed by Ratip and Modell (1996) is used to gauge the attitude of the parents of Thalassemic patients. The survey is conducted in the health centers in Peshawar that specialize in providing medical facilities to patients suffering from blood disorders. Logistic Regression and Chi Square test of Association is used to arrive at results Results: attitude and practice towards treatment and other important actions such as family extension are greatly affected by the knowledge about thalassemia as well as by culture. Awareness about the pre and post marriage treatment supported by culture and religious beliefs for the potentially at risk families as well as general public is very necessary to facilitate the prevention of the disease. Conclusion: The lack of awareness about the nature of Thalassemia in general public in combination with the cultural and religious influence affects the attitude and practices of people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa negatively in relation to Thalassemia prevention.

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