Amis: Tallasemic population is mainly young; therefore, family plays a very important role in providing care for them.
Considering the chronic nature of thalassemia, it is necessary for patients and their families to have addequate information
on the disease proccess and related therapeutic measurements. This study was performed to determine the knowledge level
and educationl needs of thalassemic patients’ parents.
Methods: This descriptive study was performed on 300 thalassemic patients’ parents who reffered to Kerman special
diseases center in year 2005. Data was collected based on a researcher-made questionnaire by interviewing parents and was
analyzed by SPSS 15 using frequency table, ANOVA, student t-tests and Spearman correlation coefficient.
Results: The mean age of fathers was 42.02±9 years and for mothers it was 35.9±8.4 years. The mean score range of 20
items in need questionnaire was between 2.79 and 2.96 (from the maximum score of 4). Parents’ knowledge was under 50%
considering all items and they gained 37% of the total score. There was a positive correlation between parents’ level of
education and knowledge as well as their educational needs. Mothers’ educational needs were more than that of fathers.
Conclusion: Thalassemic patients’ parents don’t have adequate information on the disease and need a high level of
education.