Abstract
Thalassemia is not uncommon chronic disease in developing countries including Iraq it poses a heavy
burden on the health care system as well as the tremendous pressure and psychological stresses that the
parents suffer due to the presence of children with thalassemia in their families.The objective of this study is
to identify the difference of the level and the score of depression between parents with thalassemic children
and the control group.
This was a case comparison study which included 300 parents , one hundred were considered as cases
because they are parents of thalassemia children ,the control group included two hundred parents of healthy
children, both groups are the attendees of Hilla children and maternity hospital in Babylon province during
the period from the beginning of July through the end of November 2014 .
Data collection was done by interviewing the two groups using a structured valid questionnaire prepared by
the r0esearchers after obtaining the consents of participants.Beck Depression Inventory score was applied to
mea in both groups.
Results showed that there were a significant high depression scores among the parents of diseased children
compared to parents of the healthy children( P<0.05 ) , no significant relation was found regarding the place
of residence , in conclusion thalassemia put a stressful pressure on Iraqi families with diseased children
especially mothers , a psychosocial support program is strongly requested to help them .
Key words:Thalassemia, children, parents depressions, Iraq