A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SICKLE CELL DISEASE AND RHESUS FACTOR COMPARABILITY AMONG COUPLES IN YENEGOA AND PORT HARCOURT

ABSTRACT: The study on a comparative study of sickle cell disease and Rhesus factor comparability among couples in Yenegoa and Port Harcourt aimed at evaluating the media campaign in creating awareness on sickle cell and Rhesus factor among couples in Yenegoa and port Harcourt, to examine whether counseling before marriage will help control the prevalence of sickle cell and Rhesus factor among couples in Nigeria, to determine whether low standard of living will increase the mortality rate among children with sickle cell disease, to determine the effect of Rhesus factor and sickle cell on child mortality rate in Yenegoa and port Harcourt and to determine the extent to which availability of drugs and medical facilities controls sickle cell disease and Rhesus factor in Yenegoa and Port Harcourt. The study made use of primary data which are gotten from the distribution of the research questionnaires; the sample size for the study is 101. The study made use of the Pearson correlation method and paired sample t-test for the analysis. However there is a statistically significantly (0.00) strong relationship (0.819) between the responses of the respondents that said that Rhesus factor and sickle cell have significant effect on child mortality rate in Yenegoa and Port Harcourt and those that said that broadcast media reaches higher number of audience in creating awareness for sickle cell and Rhesus. The study therefore concluded that there is significant the difference in effectiveness of media campaign on sickle cell and Rhesus factor. The study also made useful recommendation to assist the federal government in decision making.