Self-Efficacy Among Adolescents With Sickle Cell Disease in a Central Indian Tertiary Care Hospital.

AIM: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a major public health concern. Self-efficacy is a person's particular set of beliefs in their ability to accomplish daily life activities with symptom management. The aim of the present study was to explore the level of self-efficacy among adolescents with SCD.

METHODS

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the self-efficacy of adolescents with sickle cell disease using a purposive sampling of 300 adolescents diagnosed with SCD in a tertiary care center in east-central India. A sickle cell self-efficacy scale was used to collect data between November 2023 and April 2024. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and linear regression.

RESULTS

The mean age at which adolescents were diagnosed with SCD was 3.31 ± 0.14 years, and 69.7% (209) of adolescents were identified between the ages of one and five years. Additionally, 73% (219) of adolescents had moderate self-efficacy. The current study found that most adolescents had a moderate level of self-efficacy, and regression analysis showed that the strong predictors for higher self-efficacy levels were higher education, economic status, place of residence, and age group.

CONCLUSIONS

The adolescents had a moderate level of self-efficacy. Future interventions are recommended to help improve self-efficacy in adolescents with SCD.