A Study on the Preferences of Parents of Patients with Thalassemia Major in ‎Obtaining ‎Health Information

Although many studies have been conducted on thalassemia from different aspects, none of ýthem have yet identified the preferences of parents of patients with thalassemia major in ýreceiving health information. Parents of these patients need appropriate and timely ýinformation to manage and resolve the problems of their children and family. This study ýaimed to identify the preferences of these parents in obtaining information to manage their ýchildren’s health.
This was an applied, descriptive, and cross-sectional research. The study was conducted ýthrough interviews with the parents of patients with thalassemia major who were admitted to ýthe pediatric ward of a hospital affiliated to Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in ýý2014. The data collection tool was a valid and reliable researcher-made questionnaire (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.87). The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the ýFriedman test.
According to the results, 39.6% of the parents reported obtaining information about mental ýhealth problems as their first priority, while 56.6% of the parents reported obtaining ýinformation about the side effects of Desferal as their first priority. In addition, 56.6% of the ýparents preferred that the information be given to the patients’ father.
The results indicated the type of information parents prefer to obtain first. Informational ýsupport can help the parents better manage their children’s illness. Transference of valuable ýknowledge through several information sources to the parents can lead to improvement of ýhealth in the society and parents feeling that they are socially supported.