KNOWLEDGE OF RHESUS INCOMPATIBILITY AND ITS PREVENTIVE MEASURES AMONG STUDENTS OF COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES, OKOFIA

Rhesus incompatibility is one of the less commonly discussed pregnancy complications in Africa with the rhesus negative prevalence ranging from 2.4% to 4.5%, less than the 14% found among the Caucasians. However, rhesus negative African women face higher reproductive risk such as hemolytic disease of Newborn, in comparison to their counterparts. This study aimed to assess the knowledge of rhesus incompatibility and its preventive measures among undergraduate students in the health sector. A descriptive cross-sectional study among 255 students was carried out, with self-administered questionnaires used for data collectionx and analysis done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 25. Results showed that 76.5%, 17.3% and 6.2% of the students had good, fair and poor knowledge on rhesus incompatibility respectively. Only 42.4% had good knowledge on preventive measures. Inclusion of the subject in the academic curriculum was the major factor affecting knowledge. Others were personal experiences then culture and beliefs (16.1% and 21.6%). There was a statistically significant relationship between level of knowledge of rhesus incompatibility and knowledge of its preventive measures (P<0.001). In conclusion, students in the health sector have adequate knowledge of rhesus incompatibility but need more training to be well versed in the preventive measures.