University Students' Knowledge, Attitudes, Awareness and Practices Regarding Thalassemia in a Carrier Screening Campaign in Bangladesh

Abstract

Introduction: Thalassemia is the most common inherited hemoglobin disorder in the world. A thalassemia carrier is a recessive condition carrying one of the faulty genes that cause thalassemia. There is a 25.0% probability in every pregnancy of having this life-threatening disorder in a child. This study aims to investigate university students' knowledge, attitudes, awareness and practices (KAP) towards thalassemia by conducting a pre-KAP study in a thalassemia carrier screening campaign in Bangladesh. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh, from January 2021 to March 2021. The study involved 290 university students participating in a thalassemia carrier screening campaign, who completed a self-administered questionnaire about thalassemia. Results: The pre-KAP study showed that 82.6% of students were familiar with thalassemia, but 76.4% of students answered incorrectly that thalassemia spreads through blood. More than 90.0% of the students (93.7%) believed that premarital screening is necessary to reduce the occurrence of thalassemia, and (92.7%) believed that raising social awareness for thalassemia is important. There were no notable distinctions between male and female participants in terms of their knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding thalassemia. Conclusions: The study highlights the need for increased awareness of thalassemia and suggests that identifying carriers is crucial in reducing the occurrence of this life-threatening disorder.