Awareness Of Thalassaemia Among Rural Folks In Penang, Malaysia

Introduction: it is estimated that 3-5% of the Malaysian population are Beta-thalassaemia carriers, of which Malays are the majority. Aim: to determine the awareness of thalassaemia among parents and/or married couples of a rural community in Penang, Malaysia. Methodology: a cross-sectional study design was used. All parents and/or married couples in the defined study area were eligible to participate. A modified version of Thalassaemia Knowledge Questionnaire by Armeli et al was used. The results were analysed using PASW version18. Results: Out of the total 112 respondents, only 52 (46.4%) claimed to know what thalassaemia is and only 3 (5.8%) were tested for thalassaemia. Although half of the participants were aware of thalassaemia, their knowledge of thalassaemia was poor. Most of them knew how thalassaemia can be diagnosed but most did not know the treatment and the prognosis of the illness. Analytical study of the data shows that there is a statistically significant association between the awareness of thalassaemia and individuals of different ages (p=0.025) and different education levels (p=0.003). Conclusion: thalassaemia awareness among the rural community in Penang, Malaysia was poor despite the high prevalence of the disease carriers. Educational effort should be made to improve the awareness of this illness among the rural Malaysian community.