Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Mediterranean nursing and midwifery (Online), cilt.3, sa.1, ss.43-47, 2023 (Hakemli Dergi)
Thalassemia is an inherited hematologic disease in which the body makes an abnormal form of hemoglobin. Patients are diagnosed with thalassemia major due to severe anemia and clinical symptoms. Thalassemia major is a common disease in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and other Mediterranean countries. Thalassemia major is a chronic and severe health problem. Thalassemia major damages organs due to intense iron accumulation and deep anemia. It negatively affects the quality of life and shortens life. Also, due to chronic disease, patients experience psychological and social problems. In this review, we present thalassemia major in the TRNC. The rate of patients has decreased with prevention programs and no sick baby has been born after 2001 in the TRNC. However, existing thalassemia patients have many physical and psychosocial problems and the treatment processes the patients are challenging. Since TRNC is an island that receives immigration, it has a sociological texture that includes different cultures, which can increase the dimensions of this problem. Therefore, this review focuses on the thalassemia process and the psychosocial problems caused by the disease in the TRNC.