Abstract
IntroductionThis study assessed the level of knowledge and quality of life of adolescents living with sickle cell disease (SCD) and their quality of life.MethodsThis study utilized descriptive research design. The study was conducted in two secondary level hospitals with functional SCD clinic in Ondo State. One hundred and four (104) adolescents participated in the study. Their consents were sought and gained.ResultsResults showed that more males (63.5%) participated in the study. The mean age of the participants was 15.26±3.09 years. More than half (62.5%) of the participants that participated in the study had SCD crisis within six months. The mean SCD knowledge of participants in the study was 22.12±2.76, while 15.4% of the participants had good knowledge of SCD and Only 13(12.5%) have high quality of life. Also, the mean score of the participants on the quality of life scale was 39.50±6.47.ConclusionKnowledge of adolescents with SCD that participated in the study was relatively low and their quality of life moderate. Effort should therefore, geared towards improving their knowledge about SCD and providing supportive care that will improve their quality of life.
Highlights
Sickle Cell Anaemia (SCA) is an inherited blood disorder that affects the haemoglobin within the red blood cells [1]
This is because while Acharya, Walsh, and Friedman conducted their study among the general population including those without sickle cell anaemia, the present study focused only on those with SCA [14]
Sickle cell disease had been documented to reduce the quality of life of people living with it
Summary
Sickle Cell Anaemia (SCA) is an inherited blood disorder that affects the haemoglobin within the red blood cells [1]. In Nigeria, 24% of the populations are carriers of the mutant gene and the prevalence of sickle cell anaemia is about 20 per 1000 live births, which implies that in Nigeria alone, about 150,000 children are born annually with SCA [5]. Adolescents with SCA often experience a wide range of complications including severe pain, chronic anaemia and jaundice, susceptibility to infection, pulmonary complications and acute chest syndrome, stroke risk, short stature and delayed puberty [6, 7]. These complications tend to compromise adolescents' health status, quality of life, and emerging independence [8]. This study is designed to evaluate the knowledge of SCA among adolescent living with SCA in Ondo State and their quality of life
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