Feasibility of and barriers to thalassemia screening in migrant populations: a cross-sectional study of Myanmar and Cambodian migrants in Thailand

BMC Public Health

Marilyn J. Telen¹  Julia Z. Xu²  Wilaslak Tanongsaksakul³  Thidarat Suksangpleng⁴  Suchada Riolueang⁴  Supachai Ekwattanakit⁴  Vip Viprakasit⁵ 

[1]Department of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, USA

[2]Department of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, USA

[3]National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, 20892, Bethesda, MD, USA

[4]Department of Pediatrics, Laem Chabang Hospital, 20230, Laem Chabang, Chonburi, Thailand

[5]Thalassemia Center, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, 2 Wanglang Road, Bangkoknoi, 10700, Bangkok, Thailand

[6]Thalassemia Center, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, 2 Wanglang Road, Bangkoknoi, 10700, Bangkok, Thailand

[7]Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, 2 Wanglang Road, Bangkoknoi, 10700, Bangkok, Thailand

[8]Thalassemia Center and Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, 2 Wanglang Road, Bangkoknoi, 10700, Bangkok, Thailand

关键词: Thalassemia;    Hemoglobin E;    Migrants;    Awareness;    KAP survey;    Cross-cultural comparison;    Epidemiology;    Genetic testing;    Thailand;    Southeast Asia;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-021-11059-2

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThalassemia, an inherited hemoglobin disorder, has become a global public health problem due to population migration. Evidence-based strategies for thalassemia prevention in migrants are lacking. We characterized barriers to thalassemia screening and the burden of thalassemia in migrant workers in Thailand.MethodsMultilingual demographic and KAP surveys were completed by 197 Thai, 119 Myanmar, and 176 Cambodian adults residing in Thailand. Thalassemia awareness, socio-demographic predictors, and knowledge and attitude scores were compared between migrant and Thai subjects. Comprehensive thalassemia testing was performed for migrants.ResultsMigrants had extremely poor thalassemia awareness (4.1%) compared to Thai subjects (79.6%) and had lower thalassemia knowledge scores but similar attitude scores. Surveys identified differing sociodemographic factors predicting awareness in Thai and migrant subjects, as well as key misconceptions likely to hinder thalassemia screening uptake. Nearly all migrants consented to thalassemia testing. We identified abnormal hemoglobin profiles in 52.7% of migrants and a higher projected rate of severe thalassemia births in migrants.ConclusionsThe high burden of thalassemia and tremendous knowledge gap in migrants needs urgent attention. Thalassemia screening was feasible and acceptable in our migrant population. Sociocultural and structural barriers merit further attention when designing thalassemia screening and prevention policies for migrants in Thailand and globally.

【 授权许可】

CC BY