Table 4.
Participants’ knowledge about sickle cell disease prevention stratified by age and sex for an exploratory study at University of Cape Coast from 2nd February to 22nd December 2022
| Total | Sex | P-value | Age (years) | P-value | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | Male | 15–19 | 20–29 | 30–39 | ≥40 | ||||
| Sickle cell condition testing must be mandatory for all couples before marriage | 0.020 | 0.747 | |||||||
| Disagree | 27 (7.0) | 12 (6.4) | 15 (7.6) | 1 (3.2) | 21 (7.1) | 4 (7.7) | 1 (14.3) | ||
| Uncertain | 7 (1.8) | 0 (0.0) | 7 (3.5) | 0 (0.0) | 7 (2.4) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | ||
| Agree | 352 (91.2) | 176 (93.6) | 176 (88.9) | 30 (96.8) | 268 (90.5) | 48 (92.3) | 6 (85.7) | ||
| It should be mandatory for all newborns to be tested for sickle cell condition | 0.268 | 0.384 | |||||||
| Disagree | 21 (5.4) | 9 (4.8) | 12 (6.1) | 0 (0.0) | 18 (6.1) | 2 (3.8) | 1 (14.3) | ||
| Uncertain | 26 (6.7) | 9 (4.8) | 17 (8.6) | 3 (9.7) | 22 (7.4) | 1 (1.9) | 0 (0.0) | ||
| Agree | 339 (87.8) | 170 (90.4) | 169 (85.4) | 28 (90.3) | 256 (86.5) | 49 (94.2) | 6 (85.7) | ||
| Two people who have sickle cell condition should be stopped from marrying | 0.071 | 0.890 | |||||||
| Disagree | 51 (13.2) | 19 (10.1) | 32 (16.2) | 3 (9.7) | 40 (13.5) | 8 (15.4) | 0 (0.0) | ||
| Uncertain | 47 (12.2) | 19 (10.1) | 28 (14.1) | 3 (9.7) | 38 (12.8) | 5 (9.6) | 1 (14.3) | ||
| Agree | 288 (74.6) | 150 (79.8) | 138 (69.7) | 25 (80.6) | 218 (73.6) | 39 (75.0) | 6 (85.7) | ||
| If I know that I am at risk of giving birth to a sickle cell child, it will change my pregnancy plans | 0.224 | 0.533 | |||||||
| Disagree | 71 (18.4) | 28 (14.8) | 43 (21.7) | 6 (19.4) | 52 (17.6) | 12 (23.1) | 1 (14.3) | ||
| Uncertain | 112 (29.0) | 57 (30.3) | 55 (27.8) | 8 (25.8) | 91 (30.7) | 13 (25.0) | 0 (0.0) | ||
| Agree | 203 (52.6) | 103 (54.8) | 100 (50.5) | 17 (54.8) | 153 (51.7) | 27 (51.9) | 6 (85.7) | ||
| Pastors/Imams should advise all prospective couples who have sickle cell disease from marrying | 0.165 | 0.110 | |||||||
| Disagree | 97 (25.1) | 41 (21.8) | 56 (28.3) | 8 (25.8) | 71 (24.0) | 18 (34.6) | 0 (0.0) | ||
| Uncertain | 53 (13.7) | 23 (12.2) | 30 (15.2) | 3 (9.7) | 47 (15.9) | 3 (5.8) | 0 (0.0) | ||
| Agree | 236 (61.1) | 124 (66.0) | 112 (56.6) | 20 (64.5) | 178 (60.1) | 31 (59.6) | 7 (100.0) | ||
The data is presented as frequencies n (%) with statistical significance at p < 0.05 determined using chi-square test