Awareness, Knowledge and Attitude toward Sickle cell Disease among Undergraduate Students in a University in Bayelsa State, Nigeria.
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Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 undergraduates of Niger Delta University, Bayelsa state selected through multistage and systematic sampling. Data on sociodemographics, awareness, knowledge, and attitude toward sickle cell disease were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 27. Student t test was used for comparison of means between two categories and analysis of variance (ANOVA) between 3 or more categories. A p-value of
less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: Out of 300 students, 53.3% were females. 94.7% were aware of the existence of sickle cell disease and half (52.3%) had good knowledge. Knowledge was significantly higher amongst students in the basic medical sciences (p <0.001) and those who knew someone with sickle cell disease (p=0.003). Most (89%) supported premarital genetic counselling and 80.7% opposed relationships with probability of having a child with sickle cell disease. Primary aawareness sources were lectures/seminars, peers and social media.
Conclusion: Despite the students' high level of awareness about sickle cell disease, their knowledge was poor. However, their positive attitude can be leveraged on to improve availability of genetic counselling and testing services. Health education activities to improve their knowledge, drive positive strategies and improve informed reproductive choices which will reduce the morbidity associated with ssickle cell disease.
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