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Knowledge, Attitude and Uptake of Premarital Screening for the Sickle Trait Among Married Couples in a Semi-Urban Community in South-South Nigeria

Received: 31 March 2015     Accepted: 3 April 2015     Published: 14 April 2015
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Abstract

More than 24% of Nigerians are carriers of the sickle cell gene, while about 2% of all the newborns in Nigeria are born with the sickle cell disease. The disease is a lifelong cause of severe morbidity that often require prolonged hospital admission; even as the patients have 92% excess mortality. The prevention of the disease is therefore very important, especially in Nigeria whose contribution to the global total has been projected to increase. Premarital screening for the sickle cell gene is considered one of the best ways of preventing the sickle cell disease. This study assessed the knowledge, attitude and uptake of the premarital screening among married couples in Choba, a semi-urban community in south-south Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used, with the data collected using structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire that was administered on married male members of the study community. A total of 290 questionnaires were administered and retrieved. The respondents had an average age of 30.55 ±4.1 years; majority (65.86%) had a tertiary education and they were all Christians. All the respondents knew about the sickle cell disease, while 84.83% were aware of the premarital screening for the disease. All had positive attitude towards the premarital screening, with 88.97% recommending that the screening be made compulsory for all intending couples. Most (72.76%) of the respondents carried out the premarital screening when they got married. The age, educational attainment and the religious denomination of the respondents significantly influenced the uptake of the screening (p-value > 0.001). A total of 9.00% of the respondents were of the same HbAS genotype as their intended spouses; out of which 21.05% went ahead and got married, citing as reasons the difficulty of jettisoning their spouses (25.00%); and the power of God to prevent a child with sickle cell disease (75.00%). The knowledge, attitude and uptake of premarital screening for sickle cell disease are high in the study, even as the screening programme is not driven by the government. The input of the government is however required in providing health education, genetic counselling and prenatal diagnosis.

Published in European Journal of Preventive Medicine (Volume 3, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ejpm.20150303.13
Page(s) 49-54
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2015. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Sickle Cell Disease, Premarital Screening, at-Risk Couple, Christian, South-South Nigeria

References
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[12] Piel FB, Hay SI, Gupta S, Weatherall DJ, Williams TN (2013) Global Burden of Sickle Cell Anaemia in Children under Five, 2010–2050: Modelling Based on Demographics, Excess Mortality, and Interventions. PLoS Med 10(7): e1001484. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001484
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[17] Oludare GO, Ogil MC. Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Premarital Counseling for Sickle Cell Disease Among Youth in Yaba, Nigeria. Afr J Reprod Health 2013; 17[4]: 175 – 182.
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  • APA Style

    Precious Kalamba Gbeneol, Seiyefa Funakpa Brisibe, Best Ordinioha. (2015). Knowledge, Attitude and Uptake of Premarital Screening for the Sickle Trait Among Married Couples in a Semi-Urban Community in South-South Nigeria. European Journal of Preventive Medicine, 3(3), 49-54. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejpm.20150303.13

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    ACS Style

    Precious Kalamba Gbeneol; Seiyefa Funakpa Brisibe; Best Ordinioha. Knowledge, Attitude and Uptake of Premarital Screening for the Sickle Trait Among Married Couples in a Semi-Urban Community in South-South Nigeria. Eur. J. Prev. Med. 2015, 3(3), 49-54. doi: 10.11648/j.ejpm.20150303.13

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    AMA Style

    Precious Kalamba Gbeneol, Seiyefa Funakpa Brisibe, Best Ordinioha. Knowledge, Attitude and Uptake of Premarital Screening for the Sickle Trait Among Married Couples in a Semi-Urban Community in South-South Nigeria. Eur J Prev Med. 2015;3(3):49-54. doi: 10.11648/j.ejpm.20150303.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ejpm.20150303.13,
      author = {Precious Kalamba Gbeneol and Seiyefa Funakpa Brisibe and Best Ordinioha},
      title = {Knowledge, Attitude and Uptake of Premarital Screening for the Sickle Trait Among Married Couples in a Semi-Urban Community in South-South Nigeria},
      journal = {European Journal of Preventive Medicine},
      volume = {3},
      number = {3},
      pages = {49-54},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ejpm.20150303.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejpm.20150303.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ejpm.20150303.13},
      abstract = {More than 24% of Nigerians are carriers of the sickle cell gene, while about 2% of all the newborns in Nigeria are born with the sickle cell disease. The disease is a lifelong cause of severe morbidity that often require prolonged hospital admission; even as the patients have 92% excess mortality. The prevention of the disease is therefore very important, especially in Nigeria whose contribution to the global total has been projected to increase. Premarital screening for the sickle cell gene is considered one of the best ways of preventing the sickle cell disease. This study assessed the knowledge, attitude and uptake of the premarital screening among married couples in Choba, a semi-urban community in south-south Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used, with the data collected using structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire that was administered on married male members of the study community. A total of 290 questionnaires were administered and retrieved. The respondents had an average age of 30.55 ±4.1 years; majority (65.86%) had a tertiary education and they were all Christians. All the respondents knew about the sickle cell disease, while 84.83% were aware of the premarital screening for the disease. All had positive attitude towards the premarital screening, with 88.97% recommending that the screening be made compulsory for all intending couples. Most (72.76%) of the respondents carried out the premarital screening when they got married. The age, educational attainment and the religious denomination of the respondents significantly influenced the uptake of the screening (p-value > 0.001). A total of 9.00% of the respondents were of the same HbAS genotype as their intended spouses; out of which 21.05% went ahead and got married, citing as reasons the difficulty of jettisoning their spouses (25.00%); and the power of God to prevent a child with sickle cell disease (75.00%). The knowledge, attitude and uptake of premarital screening for sickle cell disease are high in the study, even as the screening programme is not driven by the government. The input of the government is however required in providing health education, genetic counselling and prenatal diagnosis.},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Knowledge, Attitude and Uptake of Premarital Screening for the Sickle Trait Among Married Couples in a Semi-Urban Community in South-South Nigeria
    AU  - Precious Kalamba Gbeneol
    AU  - Seiyefa Funakpa Brisibe
    AU  - Best Ordinioha
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    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejpm.20150303.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ejpm.20150303.13
    T2  - European Journal of Preventive Medicine
    JF  - European Journal of Preventive Medicine
    JO  - European Journal of Preventive Medicine
    SP  - 49
    EP  - 54
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-8230
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejpm.20150303.13
    AB  - More than 24% of Nigerians are carriers of the sickle cell gene, while about 2% of all the newborns in Nigeria are born with the sickle cell disease. The disease is a lifelong cause of severe morbidity that often require prolonged hospital admission; even as the patients have 92% excess mortality. The prevention of the disease is therefore very important, especially in Nigeria whose contribution to the global total has been projected to increase. Premarital screening for the sickle cell gene is considered one of the best ways of preventing the sickle cell disease. This study assessed the knowledge, attitude and uptake of the premarital screening among married couples in Choba, a semi-urban community in south-south Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used, with the data collected using structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire that was administered on married male members of the study community. A total of 290 questionnaires were administered and retrieved. The respondents had an average age of 30.55 ±4.1 years; majority (65.86%) had a tertiary education and they were all Christians. All the respondents knew about the sickle cell disease, while 84.83% were aware of the premarital screening for the disease. All had positive attitude towards the premarital screening, with 88.97% recommending that the screening be made compulsory for all intending couples. Most (72.76%) of the respondents carried out the premarital screening when they got married. The age, educational attainment and the religious denomination of the respondents significantly influenced the uptake of the screening (p-value > 0.001). A total of 9.00% of the respondents were of the same HbAS genotype as their intended spouses; out of which 21.05% went ahead and got married, citing as reasons the difficulty of jettisoning their spouses (25.00%); and the power of God to prevent a child with sickle cell disease (75.00%). The knowledge, attitude and uptake of premarital screening for sickle cell disease are high in the study, even as the screening programme is not driven by the government. The input of the government is however required in providing health education, genetic counselling and prenatal diagnosis.
    VL  - 3
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Medical Services, University of Education, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

  • Department of Family Medicine, Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, Okolobiri - Bayelsa State, Nigeria

  • Department of Community Medicine, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

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