Analysis of the Relationship between Education, Merital Status, Age of Marriage and Exposure to Education with Awareness of Thalassemia Screening in Indonesia

Indonesia as a country with a fairly large number of thalassemia cases still lacks knowledge and awareness of thalassemia. This lack of knowledge is reviewed for its causes and can have an impact on the low number of screening cases. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between age of marriage, marital status, education level, and exposure to education on public understanding of thalassemia screening awareness. This study is a cross-sectional study with a sample of 35 respondents taken with a combination of convenience sampling and purposive sampling method. Data analysis used the chi square test. The results of the study showed that exposure to thalassemia education (p value 0.018) statistically had a significant relationship with awareness of thalassemia screening. Meanwhile, the variables of marital status (p value 0.160), education level (p value 0.502), and age of marriage (p value 0.128) did not have a relationship with awareness of thalassemia screening. Knowledge of thalassemia needs to be improved by promoting strategies of thalassemia prevention through education, early detection, and premarital counseling.