Sickle cell trait screening in students in a Ugandan university: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objective To determine the uptake, knowledge level and attitude towards sickle cell trait screening in students aged 18 to 35 years in a Ugandan university. Methods This was a university-based, cross-sectional study of students aged 18 to 35 years who were students at the Busitema University Faculty of Health Sciences. We used a simple random sampling technique to recruit participants. We conducted multivariable logistic regression to establish the association between factors such as age, year of study, marital status and uptake of sickle cell trait screening (SCTS) services. Results A total of 315 students participated in the study. The uptake rate of SCTS was 24.4%. The knowledge level regarding sickle cell disease/SCTS was 93.7%, and 73.3% of respondents had a positive attitude towards SCTS, with a mean score of 23.32 ± 5.84. A multivariate analysis showed that those aged 25 to 29 years were 7.8 times more likely to have SCTS, while married respondents were 1.3 times more likely to be screened. Conclusion The uptake of SCTS services was low relative to the total number of participants recruited in this study. Therefore, the uptake of SCTS needs to be encouraged in students at universities.