Complementary and Alternative Medicine versus Conventional Medicine Use in Thalassemia Patients

Abstract

Background: This study explores thalassemia patients' perceptions concerning the effectiveness of conventional therapies for Thalassemia healthcare. Method: The semi-structured interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and translated into English. Results: Nearly all thalassemia patients reported to have relied on conventional treatment methods to treat and reduce the severity of their disease. Few patients reported not to comply with their treatment procedures due to fear of infection through blood transfusion, surgery and organ failure. Conclusions: In conclusion, patients showed positive views about the conventional therapies carried out for Thalassemia. Keywords:: Thalassemia; qualitative; conventional; complementary and alternative medicine eISSN: 2398-4287© 2021. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v6i16.2665