Knowledge and Beliefs, towards Sickle Cell Disease among Senior High School Students in Tamale Metropolis

Abstract

Aim: Sickle cell disease is a public health problem with a global spread. As a hereditary disease, sickle cell disease comes with many complications, including anemia. With the increasing incidence of Sickle cell disease in Ghana, the study assessed students' knowledge, attitude, and belief about the disease. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used in the study. A systematic sampling technique was used to select 386 participants. A questionnaire was used to gather the data in four selected schools. Data were analyzed using SPSS. Results: About 47% of the participants were 18-20 years old. The study found that 81% of the participants have heard about Sickle cell disease. A few of them (11.66%) could tell their sickle cell status. In the case of curability of the disease, 31% believed that sickle cell disease is curable. The majority, 48.70%, would seek spiritual intervention to treat Sickle cell disease. Participants provided different explanations for the cause of sickle cell including the belief that sickle cell disease is transmitted at birth (72.28%), sexual intercourse (20.21%), airborne (3.37%), food (1.5%), and spiritual (13.47%). About 88.34% had not been screened for sickle cell disease, and the reasons assigned included not falling sick easily (22.22%), not considering it as necessary (14.53%), and the fear of testing positive (13.11%). Conclusion: There was fair knowledge of Sickle Cell Disease, with few knowing their status. There were statistically significant associations between class, the course of study, and knowledge of Sickle Cell Disease. Some of the beliefs regarding the transmission of the disease include; Sickle Cell Disease is transmitted at birth, through sexual intercourse, and airborne.