The study of sociodemographic profile, Psychiatric disorder, and caregiver burden in Transfusion dependant β Thalassaemic (TDBT) Children and their caregivers

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Thalassemia is one of the most prevalent hereditary diseases in south east Asia. Thalassemia is a concern not only for the children’s physical health but also mental health of themselves and their caregiver. This study assessed the presence of psychiatric morbidities and global functioning among thalassaemic children and the presence of psychiatric problems and caregiver burden in their caretakers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this observational cross-sectional study, a total of 46 children with thalassemia dependent transfusion (28 boys and 18 girls) with mean age of 8.83 yrs ±2.70 years were included and they were assessed for psychiatric morbidity and global functioning. 46 parents ( 12 fathers and 34 mothers ) were assessed for psychiatric morbidity and care giver burden faced by them. All the parents completed 3 different questionnaires to assess their knowledge about psycho-social functioning(PSC-35) of their children and level of burden (CBS) All participants consented to undergo screening and voluntarily participated in the screening tests. RESULTS. More than 32 children had some psychosocial problem on screening by PSC-35 56.52 %, 23.91% and 21.73% of parents reported high, moderate and low level of burden, as assessed by Caregiver Burden Scale. 65.3 % children and 62.7 % parents were diagnosed with psychiatric problems. CONCLUSION: Thalassemia affects not only the persons with the disorder but also their caregivers in several aspects, including their psychosocial well-being.