Motivational Interviewing and Compliance with Carriers Screening for Beta-Thalassemia Trait in Zahedan Premarital Counseling Center, Iran

Background Screening and early genetic counseling programs for beta-thalassemia (BT) are of paramount importance during the pre-pregnancy period in high-risk individuals. Objectives The current study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of motivational interviewing on couples` compliance with carriers screening for BT. Methods The study was performed on 80 couples with suspected blood indexes for thalassemia trait (mean corpuscular volume (MCV) < 80 and/or mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) < 27 and hemoglobin (Hb) A2 ≤ 3.5), referred to Zahedan premarital counseling center (PCC), Iran, from April 2015 to January 2016. The participants were randomly divided into motivational interviewing (MI) and routine care (control) groups; compliance was considered as number of couples referring to the center after 30 days post-intervention for re-evaluation of blood indexes, and in the second phase, if needed, referring to Zahedan prenatal diagnosis (PND) center for genetic testing, within five months. Results In the first phase, noncompliance rates were 9.86% and 26.03% for the motivational interviewing (MI) and control groups, respectively. Preventive fraction (PF) indicated a 62% reduction in noncompliance after one month. In the second phase, five months after MI, noncompliance rates were 79.17% and 94.74% in the MI and control groups, respectively (PF=0.17). Conclusions The MI group showed better compliance with short-term BT screening program, evidenced by higher rates of referral to the PCC.