Research Information System
8th International Workshop on Mathematical Methods in Scattering Theory and Biomedical Engineering, Lefkada, Greece, 27 - 29 September 2007, pp.199-200
beta-Thalassemia is an anemic genetic disorder that continues to affect between 3-10% of populations residing every country in the Mediterranean, Maghreb, Southwest, South, and Southeast Asia. While many studies surrounding beta-thalassemia concentrated either on genetic or social applications, we applied a joint method to explain beta-Thalassemia's spread rate. The data generated from interviews and questionnaires were converted into numerical values to ascertain what variables contribute to beta-thalassemia's spread rate. We hypothesized that a strong correlation among certain variables (limited education, information availability, and neighborhood prevention programs, financial insolvency, and treatment affordability) exists. Using a self-organizing map (SOM) in the analysis (due to large data content) allowed us to group the data into five regions corresponding to dominant variables responsible for beta-thalassemia's spread. After studying the mapped data and relevant variables, we concluded that education correlated to beta-thalassemia's spread rate. Education affected other variables that contributed to beta-thalassemia's spread. We concluded that a combined aggressive education/prevention and treatment programs can prevent beta-thalassemia's spread.