Bontha V Babu1, Parikipandla Sridevi2, Shaily Surti3, Manoranjan Ranjit4, Deepa Bhat5, Jatin Sarmah6, Godi Sudhakar7, Yogita Sharma1. 1. Division of Socio-Behavioural & Health Systems Research, Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, India. 2. Department of Biotechnology, Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Amarkantak, India. 3. Department of Community Medicine, Parul Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Parul University, Vadodara, India. 4. Indian Council of Medical Research-Regional Medical Research Centre, Bhubaneswar, India. 5. Department of Anatomy, JSS Medical College, JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, Mysore, India. 6. Department of Biotechnology, Bodoland University, Kokrajhar, India. 7. Department of Human Genetics, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, India.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a serious public health problem, with >300 000 affected births worldwide each year. About 73% of the SCD-affected people in India belong to the tribal population. The Government of India is planning to implement a programme for SCD and hence people's knowledge of SCD is crucial. This paper reports the SCD-related knowledge among the Indian tribal population. METHODS: As part of a formative assessment before an intervention, data were collected from 9837 adults from 24 primary health centre areas of six states. Each community's knowledge of SCD was elicited through an interviewer-administered pretested questionnaire. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted. RESULTS: Overall, 32.1% (CI 31.2 to 33.1%) of participants had heard of SCD, 7.9% (CI: 7.3 to 8.4%) knew that SCD is hereditary, 19.4% (CI: 18.7 to 20.3%) knew that a blood test can diagnose SCD and 23.9% (CI: 23.1 to 24.8%) knew that SCD is treatable. Only 13.1% (CI: 12.4 to 13.8%) knew that SCD can be prevented. No more than 16% knew about any SCD symptoms. Multiple logistic regression revealed some predictors of basic knowledge (i.e. had heard of SCD). CONCLUSIONS: There is a gross inadequacy of knowledge about SCD in the Indian tribal population. This study warrants implementing a health education programme as a part of the SCD programme.
BACKGROUND: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a serious public health problem, with >300 000 affected births worldwide each year. About 73% of the SCD-affected people in India belong to the tribal population. The Government of India is planning to implement a programme for SCD and hence people's knowledge of SCD is crucial. This paper reports the SCD-related knowledge among the Indian tribal population. METHODS: As part of a formative assessment before an intervention, data were collected from 9837 adults from 24 primary health centre areas of six states. Each community's knowledge of SCD was elicited through an interviewer-administered pretested questionnaire. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted. RESULTS: Overall, 32.1% (CI 31.2 to 33.1%) of participants had heard of SCD, 7.9% (CI: 7.3 to 8.4%) knew that SCD is hereditary, 19.4% (CI: 18.7 to 20.3%) knew that a blood test can diagnose SCD and 23.9% (CI: 23.1 to 24.8%) knew that SCD is treatable. Only 13.1% (CI: 12.4 to 13.8%) knew that SCD can be prevented. No more than 16% knew about any SCD symptoms. Multiple logistic regression revealed some predictors of basic knowledge (i.e. had heard of SCD). CONCLUSIONS: There is a gross inadequacy of knowledge about SCD in the Indian tribal population. This study warrants implementing a health education programme as a part of the SCD programme.