Assessment of Experience, Perception and Attitude Towards Premarital Sickle Cell Disease Screening among Students Attending Federal College of Education, Kano, Nigeria

Background: Sickle cell disease is a condition in which an individual inherit two abnormal haemoglobin genes from both parents βs/βs (HbSS) resulting in pathological state which is attributed to the sickling phenomenon, vaso-occlusion crises, infection and other complications. About 5% of the world’s population carries genes responsible for haemoglobinopathies and each year about 300 000 infants are born with major haemoglobin disorders including more than 200, 000 cases of sickle-cell disease in Africa. Sickle cell disease is a very common disorder in Nigeria with birth rate of about 1 in 50 and about 150,000 children are born annually with sickle cell anaemia in Nigeria alone. The study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitude of students attending the Federal College of Education, Kano about premarital screening for sickle cell disease.

Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted using interviewer-administered structured questionnaire among 305 students. Descriptive statistics of frequency count and percentages were used to describe the demographic data, while the non-parametric statistics of chi-square set at P = 0.05 level of significance were used to test the hypotheses that there is no significant difference in the attitude towards premarital sickle cell screening between students of different demographic backgrounds studying different programmes at Federal College of Education, Kano, Nigeria.

Results: Forty-six percent of respondents had low knowledge of sickle cell disease, and 40 percent had negative attitude towards premarital sickle cell screening. The predictors of knowledge are program of study in which students are enrolled, religion and age (each P = 0.00), while those predictors for attitude towards premarital sickle cell screening include religion, knowledge of sickle cell disease and marital status, each at P = 0.00 at 95% level of significance.

Conclusion: The students have poor knowledge and attitude towards sickle cell disease and premarital screening. The importance of health education as a keystone is necessary in improving knowledge and attitude towards premarital screening for sickle cell disease.