The effect of scheduled routine blood transfusions on learning achievement of children with thalassemia: A study from Tangerang District Indonesia

Abstract

Children with thalassemia often leave school to undergo blood transfusions and suffer various physical affects due to anemia, all of which may affect school performance. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of routine blood transfusions on learning achievement in children with thalassemia at Tangerang District General Hospital. This study employed a descriptive correlation with a cross-sectional design using an independent t-test to analyze the data. The sample included 178 children aged 5–18 years with thalassemia who underwent routine transfusions at Tangerang District General Hospital. The research instrument used was a questionnaire for academic grades or report cards. An independent t-test on the learning achievement of thalassemia children based on the number of days of transfusion in the last 3 months resulted in a probability value of 0.023 (p < 0.05). The conclusion is the influence of routine blood transfusion schedule with the learning achievement of thalassemia children in Tangerang thalassemia.