The Effect of Empowerment Program on the Knowledge and Performance of Mothers of Children with Thalassemia Major

Introduction: Thalassemia major is one of the most common genetic diseases in humans that causes many problems for the patient, family and health system. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of empowerment program on the knowledge and family performance of children with thalassemia major referred to the Special Patients Center of Birjand city (Iran) in 2016. Methods: In this quasi-experimental study with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group, 60 mothers of children under 15 years of age with thalassemia major referred to the Special Patients Center of Birjand in 2016, which met the criteria for inclusion were selected by available sampling method and then randomly divided into experimental (n = 30) and control (n = 30) groups. For the mothers of the experimental group, an intervention including the implementation of the empowerment model based on the steps introduced in the model was performed in 3-5 sessions as a group discussion and also using pamphlets and slides about the disease and the mothers of the control group did not receive any intervention. Researcher-made knowledge and practice questionnaires were used to collect data, which were completed by mothers of both groups before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22 software and Chi-square, Fisher's exact test, independent t-test, paired t-test, Mann-Whitney, Wilcoxon at a significant level of p≤0.05. Results: The results demonstrated that the mean score of knowledge and practice before the intervention in mothers of the experimental and control groups were not significantly different (p> 0.05). But was higher after the intervention in the mothers in the experimental group than the control group (p <0.01). In the experimental group, the mean score of knowledge and practice after the intervention increased significantly compared to before of intervention (p <0.05). But in the control group, no significant difference was observed in the score before and after the intervention. The mean changes in knowledge and performance scores in mothers in the experimental group were significantly higher than controls (p <0.01). Conclusion: According to the results, it can be said that the implementation of the empowerment model is one of the most important approaches to increase the awareness and practice of mothers of children with thalassemia major and leads to better and more efficient care and overall improvement in the lives of these patients.