Knowledge, Attitude and Acceptability of Premarital Genetic Services for Sickle Cell Disease among Undergraduates of a Nigerian Private Tertiary Institution

Abstract

In Nigeria annually, 150,000 children are born with sickle cell anemia. One way of preventing sickle cell disease is through premarital genetic counseling and screening. This study therefore assessed the knowledge, attitude and acceptability of premarital genetic services for sickle cell disease among Babcock University Undergraduates. The study was descriptive and cross sectional in design. Three hundred and seventy seven respondents were randomly selected using multistage sampling technique. Data was collected using a validated semi-structured questionnaire that was self-administered with a Cronbach-Alpha test of 0.747. It was analyzed using the statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 21 to generate descriptive and inferential statistics. The results showed that more than half 229 (60.7%) of the respondents were females while 148 (39.3%) of the respondents were males. Three hundred and fifteen of the respondents were between the age range of 16-20 years with the mean age of 18.99 and SD±0.107. 363 (96.3%) of respondents had heard of sickle cell diseasewhile, 229 (60.7%) agreed that intending couples should attend premarital genetic services and thus showed positive attitude. Another 350 (92.8%) of the respondents would undergo premarital genetic services if it is available. There is a significant difference between knowledge and acceptability of respondents towards premarital genetic services (P= 0.047) In conclusion, the respondents had a high level of knowledge and acceptability on premarital genetic services and sickle cell disease. All sectors should increase efforts in creating awareness about premarital genetic services and locations.