Background and aim: Hemoglobinopathies are among the most common inherited diseases around the world. Any change in life, whether pleasant or unpleasant, requires a kind of readjustment. Coping strategies with life changes and stress resulting from the changes are different in different people and situations. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of implementation of nursing interventions on the understanding of child health or disease through communicating with other parents or consulting with doctor families of children with Thalassemia Thalassemia Center, Dr.Mohammad Kermanshahi Hospital, Kermanshah, in 2014.
Method: This was a quasi-experimental research and data collection was carried out through field study. The sample consisted of 38 parents with children with Thalassemia who admitted to the hospital of Doctor Mohammad Kermanshahi in Kermanshah; they were selected by convenience sampling method and were randomly divided into two experimental and control groups (n=19).
In this study, a coping Health Inventory for Parents (CHIP) consisting of 45 items was used to collect pre- and post-intervention data among parents. Subscales of children's understanding of health and disease, or consulting with doctors through communicating with other parents, were used in this study. Before any intervention by the questionnaire, this subscale was measured and recorded. The intervention was then performed for 6 weeks. After 6 weeks of treatment, CHIP inventory was given to both intervention and control groups again. Analysis of the data was performed using descriptive statistics (frequency distribution and mean and standard deviation indicators) and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation coefficients and Spearman, paired t-test and Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis) using SPSS software version 22 and at 5% error level.
Results: The results of this study showed that implementation of nursing interventions had a significant relationship with increased understanding of child’s health status or disease in families with children suffering from thalassemia major (P <0.05 ) and after the intervention, scores of understanding of child’s health status or disease in the experimental group were increased.
Conclusion: Since poor coping behaviors can result into psychological - mental problems in parents and consequently their children; it seems that the implementation of nursing interventions in the field and performing individual and group counseling to parents are absolutely essential.
