University students' knowledge, attitudes, awareness and practices (Pre-KAP) regarding thalassemia in a carrier screening campaign in Bangladesh

Introduction Thalassemia is the most common inherited hemoglobin disorder in the world. A thalassemia carrier is a recessive condition carrying one of the faulty genes that cause thalassemia. There is a 25% probability in every pregnancy of having this life-threatening disorder in a child. This study aims to investigate university students' knowledge, attitudes, awareness and practices towards thalassemia by conducting a pre-KAP study in a thalassemia carrier screening campaign in Bangladesh. Methods A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh, from January 2021 to March 2021. The study involved 290 university students participating in a thalassemia carrier screening campaign, who completed a self-administered questionnaire about thalassemia. Results The pre-KAP study showed that 82.69% of students were familiar with thalassemia, but 76.47% of students answered incorrectly that thalassemia spreads through blood. More than 90% of the students (93.77%) believed that premarital screening is necessary to reduce the occurrence of thalassemia, and (92.73%) believed that raising social awareness for thalassemia is important. There were no notable distinctions between male and female participants in terms of their knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding thalassemia. Conclusions The findings indicate a critical deficit in accurate, specific knowledge despite general familiarity with the disease. his highlights the urgent need for targeted, evidence-based health education campaigns within academic institutions to correct misconceptions and empower future generations to make informed decisions about their health.