EVALUATION OF THALASSEMIA AWARENESS AMONG THE FUTURE HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS OF UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Thalassemia is among the most common genetic disorders worldwide. It constitutes a major public health problem in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The present study assessed the level of awareness regarding thalassemia among the students of RAK Medical and Health Sciences University, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE. A specially designed, pretested and validated questionnaire was distributed to the students and their responses were recorded. Out of the total 200 students, 51.5% were from pharmacy college,   29.5% were from medical college whereas 16% and 3% were from nursing and dental colleges respectively. Majority (62.5%) of respondents were female. The mean knowledge score of pharmacy students was highest 5.66 ± 2.02 out of a maximum of 7, as compared to 5.16 ± 0.81 of dental students, 4.47 ± 1.97 of medical students and 4.34 ± 2.26 of nursing students. However, mean attitude score of dental students was the highest 3.83 ± 0.40 out of a maximum of 4, but was not much different when compared to 3.64 ± 0.66 of medical students and 3.46 ± 0.97 of pharmacy students. Male students had higher level of knowledge regarding thalassemia as compared to female students. However, female students possessed better attitude towards thalassemia when compared to male students.  The level of knowledge and attitude improved as the year of study advanced. The study showed that as the level of knowledge regarding thalassemia increased the attitude of the students towards thalassemia improved fortifying the importance of knowledge in changing perception of people towards diseases like thalassemia.