Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Towards Waldenström's Macroglobulinemia Among Patients and Their Family Members

This study aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) regarding Waldenström's Macroglobulinemia (WM) among patients and their family members, and to compare differences between these two groups.

This cross-sectional survey was conducted in October 27, 2023 to Nov 27, 2023 at a tertiary hospital in Zhejiang Province, targeting WM patients and their family members. Demographic characteristics and KAP scores were collected through self-administered questionnaires.

A total of 220 valid questionnaires were analyzed, with 98 (44.55%) from patients. The overall mean knowledge, attitude, and practice scores were 10.38±4.07 (possible range: 0-16), 15.78±2.34 (possible range: 5-25), and 23.19±3.31 (possible range: 6-30), respectively. Patients had significantly higher knowledge scores than family members (11.13±4.28 vs 9.78±3.79, P = 0.004), while no significant differences were found in attitude (15.78±2.27 vs 15.77±2.40, P = 0.889) or practice scores (23.59±2.94 vs 22.87±3.56, P = 0.134). Correlation analysis revealed a positive correlation between knowledge and attitude (r = 0.1879, P = 0.0052) and practice (r = 0.1670, P = 0.0132). However, the correlation between attitudes and practices was not significant. Structural equation modeling (SEM) results showed no direct effect between knowledge and attitude (P = 0.312) or knowledge and practice (P = 0.067). In contrast, attitude directly and negatively affected practice (β = -0.10, P = 0.036).

WM patients and their family members demonstrated moderate levels of knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward WM. To enhance clinical outcomes, interventions should focus on improving attitudes, given their direct and negative impact on practices.