Quality of Self-Care in Adolescents with Major Thalassemia Referred to Selected Thalassemia Centers in Iran

Adolescents who suffer from chronic diseases, such as major thalassemia are more susceptible to physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, educational, and social self-care failure. These factors are generally more likely to be overcome if affected adolescents have a high level of self-care. This study aimed to assess self-care quality in adolescents with major thalassemia.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 200 adolescents with major thalassemia selected by convenience sampling. The Self-Care Assessment Questionnaire (SCAQ) with 52 items in six dimensions was used for data collection. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient, and ANOVA.

There was no significant relationship between socio-demographic characteristics and the dimensions of self-care in participants. Adolescents with major thalassemia were found with a high score of quality of self-care. The highest mean scores were related to the dimensions of “emotional/mental self-care (2.44±0.64)”, “social self-care (2.08±0.61)”, and “spiritual self-care (2.07±0.62)”, respectively.

It is recommended that this issue be investigated in other adolescent patients, considering the importance of self-care and its effects on various aspects of quality of life in chronic diseases. Also, planning and implementing patient education is another important management measure to promote self-care in these adolescents.