Socioeconomic Status: A Lethal Weapon in Deteriorating the Satisfaction Level Attributed to Thalassemia Management in Pakistan

Objective: To investigate the association between the sociodemographic status and patient satisfaction level with reference to thalassemia management involving tertiary public sectors of Pakistan. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted from July-Sept 2020, at Bolan Medical Hospital (BMCH) & Sandeman Provincial Hospital (SPH) Quetta. Systematic-random sampling was done to gather data through preformed structured questionnaire. Ethical consideration was acquired before the research. Participants who don’t have hearing or talking issues, without mental confusion or any systemic illness, were part of this research. The satisfaction scale was a 5-item Likert-type. A higher score indicates a higher degree of satisfaction from the respondent. Results: A total of 100 participants were included in this study. Regarding earning family members, 81% of the respondents have only 1 earning member. More than half (58%) of the fathers of the children were laborers by occupation. Chi square test revealed statistical insignificant relationship of occupation of earning members of family, area of living with level of satisfaction among participants, where p-values were 0.133 and 0.456 respectively. Chi square test showed statistically significant relationship between quality of life and level of satisfaction among participants, where p-value was 0.028. Conclusion: The present study concluded low satisfaction level among the Pakistani population with reference to the management of the thalassemic major patients in the public sector because of their declined socioeconomic status. Their monthly income could have played a major role in availing the facilities from the public sector that deals with the mass population.