TABLE 2.
Clinician knowledge and practice regarding hydroxyurea at clinical facilities across Nigeria, 2019 (N = 87).
| Questions | Responses |
|---|---|
| Yes n (%) | |
| Physicians (n = 70) | |
| Hydroxyurea (HU) prescription and knowledge | |
| Prescribe HU to patients | 52 (74.3) |
| I don’t know about HU | 3 (4.3) |
| Have no formal training on HU prescription | 19 (27.1) |
| Have formal training on how to counsel patients about HU use | 20 (28.6) |
| Not confident in providing HU to my patients | 5 (7.1) |
| There is no data that shows it will work in our clime | 4 (5.7) |
| It is the standard of care for SCD | 39 (55.7) |
| The guidelines for care of SCD recommend its use | 43 (27.1) |
| Patients are using HU | 28 (40.0) |
| HU is expensive, my patients cannot afford it. | 18 (25.7) |
| HU is a cytotoxic drug and can cause cancer | 13 (18.6) |
| HU has other side effects | 47 (67.1) |
| Not convinced of the safety of HU for treatment of SCD | 3 (4.3) |
| Patients’ compliance | |
| HU prescribed, but patient compliance is poor | 15 (21.4) |
| Patients complain about the side effects of HU | 16 (22.9) |
| HU is available, but not in the formulation children can use | 2 (2.9) |
| Drug potency | |
| Prescribed HU and found it ineffective | 1 (1.4) |
| Prescribed HU and found it quite effective | 36 (51.4) |
| Availability of drug/lab services to monitor | |
| HU is available at my site but the supply is limited | 26 (37.1) |
| HU is not available at my site | 6 (8.6) |
| My patients cannot access it from another location | 3 (4.3) |
| My patients can access it from another location | 29 (41.4) |
| The hospital I work in does not have the laboratory facilities to monitor the use of this drug | 6 (8.6) |
| Nurses or counselors (n = 17) | |
| Personal knowledge | |
| I do not know about HU | 3 (17.6) |
| I have no formal training on how to counsel patients about HU | 12 (70.6) |
| Cost | |
| Patients complain about funds to purchase HU | 4 (23.5) |
| Our patients are too poor and cannot afford this drug | 4 (23.5) |
| Our patients usually commence using HU, but stop because they cannot afford the cost of investigations needed to monitor this drug | 2 (11.8) |
| Availability | |
| HU is good, but our patients can’t find it to buy | 8 (47.1) |
| Compliance | |
| Our patients do not like taking HU because of side effects | 1 (5.9) |
| Patients usually commence taking this drug, but stop because of side effects | 4 (23.5) |
| Our patients usually do well on the drug and compliance is excellent | 8 (47.1) |
| Prescription/Counseling issues | |
| Our doctors do not prescribe HU | 1 (5.9) |
| Our counseling about this drug is ineffective with our patients | 0 (0.0) |
| I do not have formal training about counselling patients about HU | 3 (17.6) |
| Personal reasons | |
| The relatives of the patients discourage the use of HU | 0 (0) |
| Patient are not motivated to use HU | 2 (11.8) |