ADHESION TO TREATMENT BY CHILDREN WITH CONGENITAL HYPOTHYROIDISM: KNOWLEDGE OF CAREGIVERS IN BAHIA STATE, BRAZIL

OBJECTIVE: To investigate knowledge of caregivers of children with congenital hypothyroidism (CH), followed in a public reference service, as well as their associations with treatment adherence. METHODS: Exploratory, descriptive, cross-sectional study with convenience sample. Medical records of 158 patients diagnosed with congenital hypothyroidism were analyzed, and data were evaluated by applying a previously prepared questionnaire to caregivers from 2014 to 2016. Statistical analysis used the chi-square and the Spearman’s correlation tests, being significant p-value ≤0.05. RESULTS: Females were predominant among caregivers (94.3%), with a mean age of 31 years, from inland cities (77.8%). There was a predominance of socioeconomic class C (59.5%) and incomplete primary education (35.7%). More than half of patients (53.2%) with CH had an adequate hormonal control. Approximately one third of caregivers had poor knowledge (37.3%) or was unaware (24.1%) about the meaning of congenital hypothyroidism. The low knowledge level of the disease was observed to be related to caregivers’ educational level (p=0.004). CONCLUSIONS: Lack of education of caregivers was a barrier to be faced when monitoring children with CH. This reality requires greater attention from health professionals to ensure that they use clear language when giving instructions to caregivers, and that caregivers have adequately understood the proposed recommendations.