Department of Nutrition and Food Science, School of Biological Sciences, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon Boundary, Accra, Ghana.
Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States of America.
BMC Public Health. 2023 Mar 6;23(1):434. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-15343-1.
Due to its severe adverse effect on child mortality, sickle cell disease (SCD) has been identified as a set of diseases of public health concern. The high mortality rate among children with SCD in Africa has been attributed to several factors including sub-optimal management and care. This study documented the nutrition-related knowledge and practices of caregivers of teenagers who suffer from sickle cell disease (SCD) to inform decisions on integrated management of the disease.
The study included caregivers (n = 225) of adolescents with SCD who attended clinic at selected hospitals in Accra, Ghana. Pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire was employed in the gathering of information related to general and nutrition-related knowledge about SCD, as well as data on their nutrition-related practices with regards to their children who suffer from SCD. Pearson's Chi-square test and binary logistic regression analyses were applied to explore the relationship between caregivers' nutrition-related knowledge and practice.
Nutrition-related knowledge among the caregivers studied was low, with less than a third of them (29.3%) of the sample being classified as having good knowledge. Caregivers who considered nutrition care when the child experienced crises were few (21.8%), and those with low nutrition-related knowledge were less likely to do this compared with caregivers having high knowledge (OR = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.18, 0.78). The common nutrition actions reported were the provision of more fruits/fruit juices (36.5%) and warm fluids such as soups and teas (31.7%). More than a third of the caregivers (38.7%) admitted that they faced challenges in caring for their adolescents with SCD, particularly in the area of finance for the needed health care.
Our study findings indicate that it is important to incorporate appropriate nutrition education messages for caregivers as part of a holistic management of SCD.
由于镰状细胞病（SCD）对儿童死亡率有严重的不利影响，因此已将其确定为一组公共卫生关注的疾病。非洲 SCD 儿童的高死亡率归因于多种因素，包括管理和护理不佳。本研究记录了照顾患有镰状细胞病的青少年的护理人员的营养相关知识和实践，以告知有关综合管理该疾病的决策。
该研究包括在加纳阿克拉选定医院就诊的青少年 SCD 护理人员（n=225）。采用预先测试的半结构式问卷收集与 SCD 相关的一般知识和营养知识以及与儿童营养相关的实践相关信息，他们的孩子患有 SCD。应用 Pearson 卡方检验和二元逻辑回归分析来探讨护理人员营养相关知识与实践之间的关系。
研究中护理人员的营养相关知识水平较低，只有不到三分之一的人（29.3%）被归类为具有良好的知识。在孩子出现危机时考虑营养护理的护理人员很少（21.8%），与具有高知识的护理人员相比，营养相关知识水平较低的护理人员不太可能这样做（OR=0.37，95%CI=0.18, 0.78）。报告的常见营养措施是提供更多的水果/果汁（36.5%）和温热的液体，如汤和茶（31.7%）。超过三分之一的护理人员（38.7%）承认，他们在照顾患有 SCD 的青少年方面面临挑战，特别是在需要的医疗保健方面的财务方面。
我们的研究结果表明，将适当的营养教育信息纳入 SCD 的整体管理中，为护理人员提供重要信息非常重要。
