Correlation Between Family Support and Medication Adherence of School-Age Thalassemic Patients at The Thalassemia Clinic in Indonesia

Abstract

A bstract: Many thalassemic children survivors in Indonesia do not adhere to the treatment of thalassemia as recommended by pediatricians.This research used a cross-sectional design with a total sampling method (N = 90). The population comprises families of school-age thalassemic survivors. The instruments utilized the Morisky Scale modified for the management of thalassemic children and an instrument on the family support theory by Sarafino to collect data on medication adherence are. Univariate and bivariate analysis with Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was employed . The findings showed that 62.2% school-age thalassemic survivors demonstrate high compliance and 37.8% exhibit moderate capacitance. Furthermore, 54.4% of them received strong family support and 45.6% have medium support. The correlation of family support to medication adherence yields a p-valueof <0.001 (r=0.484). It can be concluded that the greater the endorsement was given by the family, the higher the medical compliance of their school-age thalassemic children. Adequate family support is therefore needed to encourage school-age thalassemia sufferers to conform with their medication.