Effectiveness of an educational health programme on mothers’ knowledge and practices of thalassaemic children receive desferal therapy in Hawler thalassemia center/Erbil City

Abstract

Background and objective: Thalassaemia is a heredity blood diseases characterised by decreased synthesis of one of the two types of polypeptide chains (β or α) which form the normal adult human hemoglobin molecule (HbA, α2‚β2), resulting in decreased filling of the red cells with haemoglobin, and cause anaemia. The study aimed to improve mothers’ knowledge and practices of Thalassaemic children who are using Desferal therapy. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was carried out at Hawler Thalassemia Center in Erbil City from the 1st of March to the end of May 2010. One hundred mothers were selected and divided into two groups, 50 mothers exposed to the educational programme (study group) and a second group of (50) mothers were served as control. Pre and post test of subject of interest were done during the two occasions. Results: The results revealed that mothers’ knowledge and practices in the study group were improved. There is no significant association between mothers’ knowledge and practices with socio-demographic characteristics at pre-test which became significant at post-test . Conclusion: Yet, most of the mothers in the study group have gained benefit from implementation of this educational programme.