Knowledge and Attitude of Public Secondary School students towards Sickle Cell Disease in Lagos, Nigeria
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Date
2018-07
Authors
Oluwole, E.O.
Bakare, O.Q
Akinbami, A
Ayokunle, I.T
Journal Title
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Volume Title
Publisher
Nig. Qt J. Hosp. Med.
Abstract
Introduction: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most
prevalent genetic disorder in Africa. Nigeria has the largest population of people with sickle cell disease, with about 150,000 births annually.
Objectives: This study assessed awareness, knowledge and attitude of students in public secondary schools in Lagos state about SCD.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 350 senior secondary students selected through multistage sampling technique. Data were collected using a self-administered, pretested and structured questionnaire. Analysis was conducted with SPSS version 22. Descriptive and bivariate analysis was c o n d u c t e d w i t h l e v e l o f s i g n i f i c a n c e s e t a t p≤0.05.Knowledge of respondents was graded as poor, fair and good while the attitude was graded as poor and good.
Results: The mean ± SD age of respondents was 15±1.3 years. More than half of the respondents 227(64.9%) had ever heard of SCD and the most common source of information was mass media 80(35.2%).The mean knowledge score of the respondents was 12.80±2.73 out of 22. More than two-third 266(76.0%) of the respondents did not know the difference between genotype and blood group while more than half 200 (57.1%) referred to genotype as same with blood group. Also, a higher proportion of the respondents 233(66.4%) did not know their haemoglobin genotype. Less than half 150(42.9%) knew premarital genotype as a test method of prevention of SCD. About ten percent of the respondents 34(9.7%) had good knowledge while about half (52.3%) had good attitude towards people living with SCD and prevention.
Conclusion: Gaps exists in the level of good knowledge of and attitude towards SCD prevention among the respondents. A higher proportion of the respondents did not know their haemoglobin genotype. Hence, continuous education and awareness about SCD to improve the knowledge and attitude of secondary school students is recommended.
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Citation
E.O. Oluwole, O.Q Bakare, A. Akinbami, I.T. Ayokunle. Knowledge and Attitude of Public Secondary School students towards Sickle Cell Disease in Lagos, Nigeria. Nig. Qt J. Hosp. Med. 2018; 28(3): 189-195.