OBSERVATION OF SUITORS ON PREMARITAL GENOTYPE SCREEINING INFORMATION IN ZARIA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA  

Abstract

The study determined perception of suitors on premarital genotype screening information in Zaria local government area. Qualitative research approach using case study design was used to gain better understanding of the phenomena. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the participants. Interview guide was the instrument used for data collection. The researcher conducted interviews with ten (10) participants. Data was collected from February 2017 through March 2017.Data was analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Findings of this study revealed that participants are aware of sickle cell disease to the extent of becoming conscious of its symptoms. But the problem is that they are not aware of its cause, they believed any disease is naturally from God. The study also discovered that participants are completely ignorant on genotype and premarital sickle cell genotype screening. Participants resist and avoid information on premarital sickle cell genotype screening because they believe that disease and cure are spiritually inclined and also the fact that the outcome of the screening at times generate to emotional instability. The study recommends among others that Religious leaders should be educated on the causes of sickle cell disease, genotype and premarital genotype screening because they can serve a good channel for disseminating the information across their followers.

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Across the world Sickle cell disease is a problem that present challenges to family and ruined many marriage and break many houses. Sickle cell disease is a serious illness that affects and disturbed not only the patient but the entire family of the afflicted person, it touched the economy of the family and even the wellbeing of one relatives. The child that is suffering from sickle cell disease is always in a remorseful condition that always attracts sympathy from every faithful individual. Sickle disease is very dangerous because at time the person might have the gene of sickle cell disease without even being aware that he is carrying the mutant gene. The number of people that are carrying the gene of sickle cell disease around the world is very alarming; in fact over 100 million people worldwide are carrying the distorted gene of sickle cell disease (SCAF, 2015). Majority of people that are carrying the mutant gene are living in Africa and even in Africa Nigeria housed the highest number of people with Sickle Cell disease (W.H.O. 2006).  Sickle cell diseaseis an inherited red blood disorder passed from parents to children. The disease is not communicable because it is not passing from one individual to another through air or as a result of inhaling the breath of an affected person. It is the parents that have the mutant gene of sickle cell disease that normally passed the disease to the children, and it is associated with so many complications.

The complication of Sickle cell disease (SCD) includes acute severe pain, infection, fever, hand-foot syndrome, eye disease, acute chest syndrome, stroke, multisystem organ failure and priapism, weakness; prevent growing of a child and constant hospitalization.

PersonwhohasSickle cell disease is considered to be at an increased risk of early death, as a result of his constant sickness and hospitalization. This clearly implies it is a deadly condition which requires urgent attention to prevent or to reduce its prevalence.

Therefore, to prevent the prevalence of (SCD) medicalscholars advocated premarital genotype screening (Akiyanju, 2009). It is a type of test in which people that agreed to become husband and wife undergo to determine the nature of their gene in order to avoid transferring blood related disease to their offspring.Premarital genotype screening refers to the test in which intending couples are tested for genetic, infectious and other blood transmitted diseases to prevent the risk of transmitting the diseases to their children (Al-Aamajy, 2010;AbdulAzzem, 2011). Premarital genotype screening is anagenda in which people that are planning to get married and mean well for themselves and their family does to determine their gene in order to avoid marrying incompatible partner. Marriage among genetically incompatible partners is very dangerous. Genetically incompatible partners are those ones that carry the traitor have sickle cell disease in their blood.Marriage among genetically incompatible partners is very precariouswhich front to complete hatred between the couples after producing children.Premarital genotype screening is the onlyway that can provide intending couples with a clue on how toavoidthe spread of sickle cell disorder in their family as the case may be. It equally provides individual couple with an accurate understanding of sickle cell disease and what it means to be at risk of the disease.

Likewise, information on premarital genotype screening has become part of marriage procedure and usualcheckup in developed countries. In these develop countries it has become prerogativeupon intending couples to analyze themselves before marriage to determine their health condition in order to prevent regret after marriage. Premarital genotype screening has helped to achieve desired level of knowledge and change in attitude of people that carry trait in their gene, but in developing countries up till the present moment people doesn’t mind to inquire about the geneticstatus of their partners, they just enter intomarriage without having insight of their genotype (Akinyanju, 2009).Obedience to premarital genotype screeninghas helped in reducing the prevalence of sickle cell disease in some countries in the world. But, it is still very highin Nigeria.

To reduce the high prevalence of sickle cell disease in Nigeria, there is need for a critical investigation into the perception of people on premarital genotype screening information. Consequently, this study investigated perception of suitorson premarital genotype screening information in Zaria Local Government area of Kaduna State. Investigating Perception is very vital because people behavior including information behavior is based on their perception of what reality is, not reality itself.People tend to believe in what they physically see even if it is a fiction.In other word people tend to believe on what they glimpse even if it is justfalse intuition. Perception is the process whereby people select, organize, and interpret sensory stimulations into meaningful information about their environment (Rao and Narayan, as cited in unumerietal, 2009.In essence perception is the act of being aware of one’senvironment which denotes the individual ability to understand what is going on in that environment. Perception is all about being aware of something internally inside the sense of a living being.

1.2     Statement of Problem

Premarital genotype screening has helped in reducing the prevalence of sickle cell disease in some countries around the earth (Ahmed, 2010). But in Nigeria the prevalence of sickle cell disease is still very high (Lare, 2015,). In Nigeria about 150,000 children are born with sickle cell disease annually, out of which 100,000 eventually die. In Kaduna State alone, 24,000 people are carrying the disease(Badiya, 2017). The only way of reducing the prevalence of sickle cell disease is through premarital genotype screening. But paucity of literature exists on the perception of suitors on premarital genotype screening information in Zaria local Government area, as many people are giving the disease different interpretation. In order to inform the community on what premarital genotype screening is all about, there is critical and urgent need to study the insight of people on premarital genotype screening. Therefore, to successfully design information program aimed at disseminating information on the important of premarital genotype screening and the risk of neglecting it, there is compelling need to investigate how people perceived premarital genotype screening information.Exploring people perception on this issue will provide information program designers with opportunity of planning anagenda that would penetrate the target audience.

.      For this reason, this study explored perception of suitors on premarital genotype screening information in Zaria Local Government area. However, the researcher chooses to investigate premarital genotype screening above other testbecause of the fact that sickle cell diseaseis very dangerous and people have different interpretations on the cause of SCD. Unlike other diseases such as malaria, typhoid and H.I.V which their diagnostic causes were very well manifested to the extent that people have similar interpretation on the basis of thediseases. Furthermore, the researcher conduct this study based on the argument that took place between a friend and the girl that he wants to marry. The girl asked him to do genotype screening in order to determine the status of their blood, but he told her that he knows the class of his blood and is B+.  Later after one day the lady told him that there is  difference between blood group and genotype, when he narrated the incidence to his friend a lot of them have the same perception with him of mistaken blood group as genotype including the researcher himself. This reason prompted the researcher to investigate perception of suitors on premarital genotype screening information in Zaria local government area, because the incidence took place in the local Government.

1.3Research Questions

The study sought to address the following questions:

1. What is the awareness of suitors on sickle cell disease in Zaria Local Government area?
2. What is the knowledge of suitors on premarital genotype screening in Zaria Local

Government area?

3. What is the opinion of suitors on premarital genotype screening in Zaria Local

Government area?

4. What sources of health information are available to suitors in Zaria Local Government area?
5. How will Dervin’s sense making theory explain the perception of suitors on premarital genotype screening in Zaria Local Government area?

1.4Objectives of the Study

The study has the following objectives:

1. To explore the awareness of suitors on sickle cell disease in Zaria Local Government area.
2. To discover the knowledge of suitors on premarital genotype screening in Zaria Local Government area.
3. To ascertain the opinion of suitors on premarital genotype screening in Zaria Local

Government area.

4. To determine the sources of health information available to suitors in Zaria Local Government area.
5. To explore how Dervin’s sense making theory explain the perception of suitors on premarital genotype screening in Zaria local Government area?

1.5 Significance of the Study

In view of the prevalence of sickle cell disease in Nigeria, this study will help to provide information to Government, information workers and health care providers onthe perception of suitors on premarital genotype screening in Zaria Local Government area. It will also serve as a tool for information professionals and health care providers in finding Good channel for disseminating premarital genotype screening information to the target users especially those that are about to get married. More so, government through the information provided in this study will institute policies that will guide the suitors on the important of genotype screening before marriage. The finding of the studywill also benefit family and the general community health wise because, suitors can make clever selection before marriage. Similarly, information gathered will help to reduce the fear attached to the outcomes of the screening in the local government area.

Most importantly libraries and information centers are not left behind because they will benefit tremendously from the findings of this study in the sense that it would possess literature that will meet the information need of every user and also  add to the writingsfrom library and information science environment, thereby making the library to strongly retain its position of informing individual and society of the available knowledge and ideas for the development of self and society at large. The result of the study will also serve as groundworkto scholars and researchers who may wish to conduct research on similar or related topics especially those that focus on health information all over the world.

1.6 Scope and delimitation of the Study

The study only covered perception of male suitors on premarital genotype screening information in Kusfa, Gwargwaje and Wusasa of Zaria Local Government area.

1.7       Operational Definition of Terms

The following terms are defined operationally as used in this study:

Afflicted Person:Refers to a person who is suffering from sickle cell disease.

Genotype: this refers togenetic makeup of an individual.

Genotype Screening: This refersto the process of determining people with the mutant gene.

Paucity: this refers to few or none study exist

Perception: Refers to awareness, knowledge and opinion of the phenomenon.

Premarital:this refers to an activity that is taking place before marriage.

Suitor: Refers to a manwho engaged in a very serious courtship.

References

Abd-Azeem(2011). Promotion of knowledge and Attitude towards premarital care: An interventional study among medical Student in Fayoum University.

Ahmed S. (2010). Risk reduction of genetic disorders by premarital and neonatal Screening

Eastern Bioethics and life sciences, Dubai, UAE

Al-amma J.Y. (2010). Attitude towards mandatory national premarital screening for hereditary   hemolytic   disorder health policy.97:32-37

Akinyaju, O.O (2009) National burden of Sickle Cell disorder and the way forward. Ibadan. Nigeria.

Alege,   Lare. (2015) Pharmacist, university of IlorinTeaching Hospital. Paper Presented at the world sickle cell day.

Badya (2017) Newsweb Express.

Bernard. W. Yasin, Z&Venkat., A.(2007). Acute chestsyndrome of sickle cell disease, 44-48.

Sickle Cell awareness fund(2015). Sickle Cell Disease in Nigeria.

World Health Organisation (2006), Sickle Cell disorder in the African region; Current Situational way forward.World HealthOrganization Regional Committee for Africa.

OBSERVATION OF SUITORS ON PREMARITAL GENOTYPE SCREEINING INFORMATION IN ZARIA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA  

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