Faktor - Faktor yang Mempengaruhi Tingkat Pengetahuan Orang Tua Penderita Thalassemia Mengenai COVID-19

Knowledge level of a parent will affect the health behavior in a family. COVID-19 pandemic may affect the health status of the Thalassemic patients. This study aimed to identify the actual knowledge of parents of Thalassemic patients and their risk factors. This was a cross-sectional study. The population was the parents of Thalassemic patients who become members of Perhimpunan Orang Tua Penyandang Thalassemia Indonesia (POPTI) in Palembang. Sample size of 77 subjects was chosen using consecutive sampling technique. Subjects were asked to fill the structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using chi square test. Subjects with good level of knowledge about COVID-19 were 5.2%, with sufficient level of knowledge was 44.2%, and with low level of knowledge was 50.6%. Parents’ level of knowledge about COVID-19 was affected by their educational background (p=0.006), but was not affected by gender, occupation, and age (p>0.05). There were still many parents with low level of knowledge about COVID-19 which required special attention because it could affect the patients’ health behavior. Keywords: knowledge level, COVID-19, Thalassemia, POPTI Abstrak Tingkat pengetahuan orang tua yang baik akan memengaruhi perilaku kesehatan keluarga penderita Thalassemia. Musim pandemi COVID-19 diperkirakan memengaruhi kesehatan penderita Thalassemia. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui tingkat pengetahuan orang tua penderita Thalassemia mengenai COVID-19 dan faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhinya. Penelitian dengan desain potong lintang ini dilakukan di Yayasan Perhimpunan Orang Tua Penyandang Thalassemia Indonesia (POPTI) kota Palembang. Besar sampel sebanyak 77 orang diambil dengan teknik consecutive sampling. Responden diminta mengisi kuesioner terstruktur tentang pengetahuan yang kemudian dianalisis dengan uji Chi Square. Responden yang memiliki tingkat pengetahuan baik sebesar 5,2%, cukup sebesar 44,2% dan kurang sebesar 50,6%. Tingkat pengetahuan orang tua mengenai COVID-19 dipengaruhi oleh tingkat pendidikan orang tua (p=0,006), namun tidak dipengaruhi oleh jenis kelamin, pekerjaan, dan usia (p>0,05). Masih banyaknya orang tua penderita Thalassemia dengan pengetahuan yang kurang mengenai COVID-19 memerlukan perhatian khusus karena dapat memengaruhi perilaku kesehatan penderita. Kata kunci: tingkat pengetahuan, COVID-19, Thalassemia, POPT