Media Awareness Preferences for Information on Sickle Cell Disorder Among University Students in Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

Sickle cell disorder (SCD) is a defective blood disorder that causes pain associated with blood genotypes of victims who risk dying before their 30th birthday. SCD is best controlled when victims avoid getting married to one another to prevent the spread of susceptible genotype. Many youths lack basic facts of SCD. For long, its awareness was limited to broadcast and print media. But today, social media platforms—Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and WhatsApp—are also used to create awareness on the disease. This study attempts to determine the preferred communication channels for creating awareness on SCD among university students in South-Western Nigeria. Survey research design was adopted. Respondents were 259 students of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and University of Ibadan, both in South-West Nigeria. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. Social media awareness was 51.6%, and conventional media was 48.4%. Thus, more of the respondents preferred awareness on SCD through social media platforms.