Determinants of Teachers’ Perception of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) and Care of School Children Living with SCD in Anambra State Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD)-related complications lead to school absenteeism and poor academic performance. Educators must be well-versed in the prevalent signs and symptoms of this disease, including first aid care and associated psychosocial factors to curb this trend. Aim: To determine teacher’s knowledge of SCD and factors that affect this knowledge and care of children with SCD. Subjects and Methods: This was a descriptive survey of all Anambra State teachers invited to a health seminar at the State Education Ministry. Following a verbal informed consent, a pre-tested questionnaire was administered with information on socio demographics, school cadre of employment, marital status, and perception and care of SCD school children retrieved. The correct responses were scored on a scale of 100%. Collated data were cleaned and analyzed using Python 3.10.0. P values of less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: The average age of the 182 responders was 44.2 ± 7.14 years. The majority (90.7%) of teachers were women with post-secondary academic degrees (76.4%). Approximately 57.1% of responders were elementary school teachers. Despite the fact that only 23 (12.6%) of the teachers had attended SCD courses in the past, a good number possessed a reasonable knowledge on SCD. Although the male instructors had less knowledge than females, this difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.142). The highest educational level, prior exposure to SCD seminars, and the type of class the teacher teaches (primary or secondary) were found to impact their awareness and care of SCD patients (P = 0.003, 0.025, and 0.04, respectively). Conclusion: More seminars and health conversations on SCD should be held for teachers, with special attention to teachers who work in public schools, male teachers, and those with less than a bachelor’s degree.