High acceptability of newborn screening for sickle cell disease among post-natal mothers in western Kenya

Background Sickle cell disease is a genetically inherited blood disorder that manifests early in life with resultant significant health complications. Globally, nearly three quarters of all affected babies are in sub-Saharan Africa. Early identification of babies with sickle cell disease through newborn screening followed by early linkage to care is recommended. However, the program has not been widely adopted in the sub-Saharan Africa. Evidence on acceptability of newborn screening to scale up newborn screening program is scarce. This study assessed factors associated with acceptability of newborn screening among mothers of newborns delivered at Homa Bay county teaching and referral hospital, western Kenya. Methods This study employed a cross-sectional design among postnatal mothers at Homa Bay county teaching and referral hospital with 399 postnatal mothers enrolled into the study. A semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Maternal sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, and perception were assessed. Babies were also screened for sickle cell disease using Sickle SCAN point-of-care test. The acceptability was calculated as percentage of mothers accepting to have their babies screened. Data were analyzed using logistic regression to explore factors associated with acceptability of newborn screening for sickle cell disease. Results Ninety-four percent of mothers accepted newborn screening for sickle cell disease. Mother’s age and occupation were significantly associated with acceptability of newborn screening for sickle cell disease. Younger mothers (OR=3.01;95%CI=1.16-7.83; p =0.024) and being a student (OR= 6.18; 95%CI= 1.18-32.22; p =0.031) were significant at bivariate regression analysis. Only being a student (aOR= 25.02; 95% CI=1.29-484.51 ; p = 0.033) was significant at multivariate logistic regression analysis. Conclusion The acceptability of newborn screening for sickle cell disease is high in the county. The Homabay county and the Kenyan ministry of health should implement routine newborn screening for sickle cell disease in all level 2-6 hospitals. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement Yes ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University Of Science and Technology Ethics Committee I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes Data available * aOR : Adjusted Odds Ratio CI : Confidence Interval EC : Ethics Committee JOOUST : Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching University of Science and Technology NACOSTI : National Commission Of Science, Technology and Innovation NBS : Newborn Screening OR : Odds Ratio SCD : Sickle Cell Disease SCT : Sickle Cell trait SSA : Sub-Saharan Africa