Knowledge And Attitudes Towards Sickle Cell Trait Testing Among Youth Aged 18-30 Years In Jinja West Municipality, Jinja District.

Abstract

Introduction: Sickle cell disorders’ can be controlled cost-effectively by programmes that integrate treatment with early carrier detection through screening and genetic counseling. However sickle cell disease (SCD) is not well known or recognized by many individuals as a significant health problem with major complications, thus a large number of Ugandans are carriers of the trait but are unaware of their status. Therefore this study sought to determine the level of uptake of sickle cell trait testing (SCTT) and the knowledge and attitudes towards SCTT among youth in Jinja west municipality. Results from this study may be useful in devising interventions that can improve uptake of SCTT among youth. Method: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study among 401 youth aged between 18-30 years in Jinja municipality west, Jinja district. Participants were selected from the six villages constituting Jinja west municipality through probability sampling. Data was collected from the study participants using self-administered questionnaires that were organized in line with the study objectives. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 20 and only descriptive statistics were used. Results: Only 25% of the youth in the study had tested for SCT. The level of knowledge about SCD and SCTT was moderate with average scores of 56.6% and 63.2% respectively. However, 71.6% were aware of the availability of the SCTT services. Generally, the youth had a very positive attitude towards SCTT as a way of preventing SCD and the benefits of SCTT with a general mean overall mean attitude score of 4.08 although their attitudes towards the uptake of SCTT were neutral (with a score of 3.14). Conclusion and recommendations: The uptake of SCTT by the youth was low, although youth had moderate knowledge about SCD and SCTT. The youth had very positive attitude towards SCTT as a way of preventing SCD and the benefits of SCTT; but the attitudes towards uptake of SCTT were neutral. Therefore continuous education of youth about the disease and the importance of sickle cell trait testing is needed. Also, sensitizing the youth about the availability of the services at free cost in all public health facilities would help to improve the uptake since a good number of youth thought that these services are paid for.