Abstract:
Background: Sickle cell crisis is unpredictable nature of pain accompanied with a wide range of health problems due to various risk factors or conditions such as; infections, not drinking plenty of water, cold and damp conditions, air pollution, extreme physical activity, stress, sudden changes in temperature, use of alcohol or caffeine, and smoking. The knowledge of caregivers to better understand SCD is very essential because some patients with sickle cell disease may have infrequent problems with pain, whereas others experiencing pain that requires hospitalization and others die due to sickle cell crises. This study determined the prevalence of SCD among hospitalized children and the caregivers’ knowledge on risk factors associated with sickle cell crises in Kigoma region.
Materials & Methods: The study was conducted in Kigoma region whereby four councils were randomly selected and they included; Kasulu Town Council, Kibondo DC, Kigoma MC and Buhigwe DC. A cross-sectional design with a mixed method approach was employed. The study population included a sample of 373 children admitted in the selected Health care facilities during January to December 2020 (quantitative data) and 40 caregivers (qualitative data). Quantitative data were collected using documentary kit for database HMIS tools and an interview guide was used for caregivers’ knowledge assessment. Data analysis was done descriptively for quantitative data, and content analysis was adopted for analysis of qualitative data.
Results: The general findings in a study area show a prevalence of SCD to be 24.1% with confidence interval of 20.1-28.7%. The findings also show caregivers of under 5 years’ children to little extent know about risk factors for sickle cell crises and making efforts to avoid them.
Conclusion: The recorded prevalence of SCD is high and most caregivers have little knowledge about risk factors for sickle cell disease crises
Recommendation: Caregivers of children with sickle cell disease should be provided with SCD health education to understand the factors for sickle cell crises. This could be done through seminars, mass media and different trainings within their residential area
