Community participation for thalassemia prevention initiated by village health volunteers in northeastern Thailand.

The study was conducted to assess the achievement of a thalassemia screening program at a community level supported by village health volunteers (VHVs) of 2 subdistricts in the northeast of Thailand. One subdistrict served as the intervention and the other as the control area. A training program was organized for the village health volunteers from the intervention area. Essential information about the risk and danger of thalassemia was given to the participants who wanted to have children in the community as well. Of the 206 individuals who wanted to have children living in the intervention area, 190 (92.2%) agreed to undergo screening. Of the 196 individuals within the control area, only 26 (13.3%) voluntarily participated in the screening tests. Attitude toward prevention and knowledge about the disease improved significantly in both areas, but the differences between the scores were statistically significantly higher for individuals living in the intervention area.