<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><bold>Aim.</bold> To investigate the disease knowledge and treatment adherence among adult patients with thalassemia.<bold>Material and methods.</bold> A cross-sectional correlational study was carried out with a convenience sample of 100 adult patients with thalassemia from a university teaching hospital in Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia. The Disease Knowledge about Thalassemia Major, the Treatment Adherence Scale, and sociodemographic survey were completed by participants. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 22. Descriptive and inferential statistics and Pearson correlations were performed.<bold>Results.</bold> The participants had a moderate level of disease knowledge (M = 15.59, SD = 2.30) and a low level of treatment adherence (M = 3.91, SD = 1.83). There was also a weak but significant positive relationship between disease knowledge and treatment adherence (r = 0.297, P = 0.041). A significant difference in treatment adherence mean scores was found among participants with different monthly incomes (P = 0.05).<bold>Conclusions.</bold> Knowledge gained from this study may be useful in improving nurses’ understanding of the effects of providing practical knowledge on treatment adherence. Educational strategies/interventions programs may be required to improve knowledge and adherence to treatment among thalassemia patients. Longitudinal studies are also needed to test for moderators and mediators of relationships of disease knowledge and treatment adherence.</abstract>

Aim. To investigate the disease knowledge and treatment adherence among adult patients with thalassemia.Material and methods. A cross-sectional correlational study was carried out with a convenience sample of 100 adult patients with thalassemia from a university teaching hospital in Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia. The Disease Knowledge about Thalassemia Major, the Treatment Adherence Scale, and sociodemographic survey were completed by participants. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 22. Descriptive and inferential statistics and Pearson correlations were performed.Results. The participants had a moderate level of disease knowledge (M = 15.59, SD = 2.30) and a low level of treatment adherence (M = 3.91, SD = 1.83). There was also a weak but significant positive relationship between disease knowledge and treatment adherence (r = 0.297, P = 0.041). A significant difference in treatment adherence mean scores was found among participants with different monthly incomes (P = 0.05).Conclusions. Knowledge gained from this study may be useful in improving nurses’ understanding of the effects of providing practical knowledge on treatment adherence. Educational strategies/interventions programs may be required to improve knowledge and adherence to treatment among thalassemia patients. Longitudinal studies are also needed to test for moderators and mediators of relationships of disease knowledge and treatment adherence.

Disease Knowledge and Treatment Adherence among Adult Patients with Thalassemia: A Cross-sectional Correlational Study

Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing

Pielegniarstwo  XXI wieku / Nursing in the 21st Century

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Aim. To investigate the disease knowledge and treatment adherence among adult patients with thalassemia.Material and methods. A cross-sectional correlational...

Disease Knowledge and Treatment Adherence among Adult Patients with Thalassemia: A Cross-sectional Correlational Study

Published Online: Nov 12, 2019

Page range: 95 - 101

Received: May 08, 2019

Accepted: Jun 20, 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pielxxiw-2019-0014

Keywords
Disease knowledge, nurses, patients with thalassemia, Saudi Arabia, treatment adherence

© 2019 Aisha Alnaami et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Disease Knowledge and Treatment Adherence among Adult Patients with Thalassemia: A Cross-sectional Correlational Study

Published Online: Nov 12, 2019

Page range: 95 - 101

Received: May 08, 2019

Accepted: Jun 20, 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pielxxiw-2019-0014

KeywordsDisease knowledge, nurses, patients with thalassemia, Saudi Arabia, treatment adherence

© 2019 Aisha Alnaami et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Disease knowledge, nurses, patients with thalassemia, Saudi Arabia, treatment adherence