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Comparing Knowledge of β‐Thalassemia in Samples of Italians, Italian‐Americans, and Non‐Italian‐Americans
Author(s) -
Armeli Christina,
Robbins Steven J.,
Eunpu Deborah
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of genetic counseling
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.867
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 1573-3599
pISSN - 1059-7700
DOI - 10.1007/s10897-005-1123-5
Subject(s) - ethnic group , thalassemia , medicine , beta thalassemia , demography , public health , gerontology , pediatrics , family medicine , pathology , sociology , anthropology
The purpose of this study was to determine the level of β‐thalassemia awareness among Italians living on the eastern side of Sicily (Bronte, Catania, and Tortorici, Messina), Italian‐Americans, and Americans of other ethnic backgrounds (Other‐Americans). A questionnaire was developed which asked respondents knowledge questions about both β‐thalassemia and Down Syndrome. Five hundred questionnaires were distributed, and 456 were ultimately returned and analyzed (150 Italians, 156 Italian‐Americans, 150 Other‐Americans). Italians answered an average of 55% of the β‐thalassemia correctly compared to scores of 17 and 24% for the Italian‐Americans and Other‐Americans, respectively. The groups did not differ in their knowledge of Down Syndrome (all answered between 58 and 60% of the questions correctly on average). Over 80% of the Italian respondents had heard of β‐thalassemia compared to only 19% of the Italian‐Americans. β‐Thalassemia education programs in Italy appear to have dramatically increased awareness of the disorder. Similar programs need to be developed for at‐risk populations in the United States.