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Background: Down syndrome (DS) is the most common chromosomal abnormality found in live-born babies. It is associated with mental retardation, physical disabilities and growth problems. Prenatal screening to identify genetic disorders gaining importance now a days. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice among pregn...
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... Furthermore, various degrees of intellectual disability have been linked with DS with the intelligence quotient of affected children ranging from 20 to 70 depending on the severity of the mental retardation. [2][3][4] Maternal advanced age has been the commonest risk factor associated with the delivery of a baby with DS. 5,6 This therefore underscores the need for prenatal screening which aids in pooling those at high risk who are then subjected to procedures and tests to aid diagnosis. In most high income countries, prenatal screening is routinely offered pregnant women in their first trimester and screening methods have evolved over the years. ...
Background and objective:
Down syndrome is the most common chromosomal anomaly found among newborns. Prenatal screening can inform pregnant women and their partners of the risk of their baby having Down syndrome. The study aimed to determine the awareness and attitude of Nigerian pregnant women towards prenatal screening for Down syndrome.
Methods:
This was a prospective observational study among pregnant women who attended antenatal clinics at two teaching hospitals in Nigeria between January and June 2018. Data on their awareness and attitude towards Down syndrome screening were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire and analysed with SPSS version 23.0. Level of significance was set at p<0.05 and 95% confidence interval (CI).
Results:
Four hundred and four women participated in the study and their mean age was 30.8±4.87 years. Overall, 65.1% were aware of Down syndrome and the media (54.4%) was their main source of information. Less than half (44.3%) of them had a positive attitude towards Down syndrome screening. Respondents with primary (AOR=0.20, 95% CI=1.175-21.687) and secondary education (AOR=0.34, 95% CI=1.494-5.867) were less likely to be aware of Down syndrome, while having a positive attitude towards Down syndrome screening (AOR=2.07, 95% CI=0.314-0.745) and being engaged in skilled occupation (AOR=3.26, 95% CI=0.135-0.697) predicted awareness. A positive attitude towards Down syndrome screening was predicted by being engaged in skilled (AOR=2.51, 95% CI=0.185-0.858) and semi-skilled (AOR=2.37, 95% CI=0.205-0.870) occupation.
Conclusion:
Though majority of pregnant women had good awareness of Down syndrome; however, less than half of them had a positive attitude towards the screening test. The awareness and positive attitude exhibited by the women in this study were influenced by their level of education and occupation.
Objectives:
Knowledge and attitudes regarding Down syndrome (DS) are important determinants of care, support and inclusion for people with DS. The study was aimed at evaluating the knowledge and attitudes of medical and health sciences students, as future healthcare providers, regarding people with DS.
Methods:
The study used a cross sectional survey design and was performed at a medical and health sciences university in the United Arab Emirates. A study-specific, field-tested and validated questionnaire was used to record the responses of the students.
Results:
Overall, 74.0% of the study respondents reported positive knowledge regarding DS, with a median knowledge score of 14.0 (IQR 11.0-17.0). Likewise, 67.2% of the study respondents had positive attitudes toward people with DS, with a median attitude score of 7.5 (IQR 4.0-9.0). Age >25 years (aOR: 4.39, 95% CI: 1.88-21.93), female gender (aOR: 1.88, 95% CI: 1.16-3.07), enrollment in nursing college (aOR: 3.53, 95% CI: 1.84-6.77), senior year of study (aOR: 9.10, 95% CI: 1.94-42.65) and single relationship status (aOR: 9.16, 95% CI: 4.19-20.01) were independent predictors of knowledge level. Moreover, independent predictors of attitudes included age >25 years (aOR: 10.60, 95% CI: 1.78-62.96), senior year of study (aOR: 11.57, 95% CI: 3.20-41.83) and single relationship status (aOR: 7.23, 95% CI: 3.46-15.11).
Conclusion:
Age, gender, college, year of study and marital status were significant predictors of the knowledge and attitudes of medical and health sciences students regarding people with DS. We report positive knowledge and attitudes regarding people with DS among our sample of future health care providers. Further research is warranted to investigate knowledge and attitudes over time and actual implementation in practice.
