ABSTRACT

Aim: To assess the level of awareness and acceptance amongst the population regarding premarital carrier screening of Thalassemia

Methodology: A Cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out From October, 2020 to January, 2021 directed at the general population of Rawalpindi and Islamabad after taking ethical approval. Self-administered questionnaire was used. Random sampling technique was used. Sample size was 181. The questionnaire was designed to evaluate the awareness and acceptance of general population regarding premarital carrier screening of thalassemia. SPSS version-22 was used for data analysis.

Results: Majority of subjects were aged between 20-30 years. 11.6% of subjects out of 181 had never heard about thalassemia.72% who knew about thalassemia had a patient of thalassemia in their family. Common sources of knowledge on subject of thalassemia were their friends (31.3%) and school (26%). After receiving awareness about thalassemia and its screening, majority (80%) of subjects were willing to get themselves screened out of which 93.7% were under the age of 31 and 95.1% were unmarried.

Conclusion: The results of study show that the proportion of population of Rawalpindi and Islamabad screened for thalassemia trait is alarmingly low. Young and unmarried sections of population were highly receptive, and they were willing to get themselves screened after getting knowledge about thalassemia.

Keywords: Acceptance, Premarital screening, Thalassemia,