ABSTRACT
BACKGROUNDS: Thalassaemia is becoming serious public health problem throughout the Mediterranean region, Middle East, Indian subcontinents and also South East Asia. Its' global prevalence is about 2 per 1,000 newborns while its' prevalence in Iran is 8-4 per 1,000 newborns. The aim of this study was to compare the Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) of thalassaemia patients with the HRQOL of healthy children in terms of essential core domains for pediatric HRQOL measurement. METHODS: This cross sectional study has been done in Yazd, Iran. 60 thalassaemia patients were selected randomly as case group and 120 healthy children as control group who were matched with respect to age and gender. The health related quality of life was measured with a self - administrated short - form questionnaire of Medical Outcomes study (SF-20). The SF-20 measure contains three dimensions about function (physical, social and role) and well-being (mental health, health perception and pain). RESULTS: The results of this study showed significant difference between all dimension of SF-20 and QOL of patients in the case and control group (p<0.001). The QOL in the case group was 75.05 (SD=9.38), but in the control group was 93.4 (SD=6.42) out of 100. CONCLUSIONS: The effect of thalassaemia on the HRQOL in affected children has been related to reduction of their physical, social and mental capabilities.
Subject(s)
Quality of Life , Thalassemia/psychology , Adolescent , Adolescent Behavior/psychology , Age Distribution , Case-Control Studies , Child , Child Behavior/psychology , Female , Humans , Iran/epidemiology , Male , Sex Distribution , Sickness Impact Profile , Thalassemia/epidemiologyABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Cancer is increasingly recognized as a major and growing health concern in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR), and skin cancers are the most prevalent cancers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and performance of university students regarding skin cancer. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 230 samples selected randomly from the students of Yazd universities. The reliability of the questionnaire was certified by specialists, validated by a pilot study, and confirmed by Alpha Cronbachs test (α = 0.8). SPSS software was used for data entry, manipulation, and analysis. RESULTS: The students studied had medium knowledge level related to skin cancer. Their attitude towards skin cancer was relatively good. The performance level of the population under study was moderate. Non-medical students had more poor knowledge, attitude, and performance than medical students. Overall results show a significant relationship between knowledge, attitude, and performance level of the population under study. CONCLUSION: Skin cancers are the most common form of cancers in our state, but my students do not have appropriate knowledge and performance levels about this disease. It is therefore proposed that related information should be given to them during continuous and regular educational programs.
