Online Presence of Reproductive Health Advocacy Campaign Organisations and Knowledge of Sickle Cell Disease among Undergraduates of Two Private Universities in Oyo State

Abstract

Nigeria is one of the epicenters of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) with substantial cases. Globally, lack of knowledge of SCD especially people 
within the reproductive age is frequently attributed to the increase in recorded cases of SCD. Therefore, this study investigates the online presence of reproductive health advocacy campaign organisations and knowledge of sickle cell disease among undergraduates of two private universities in Oyo State. The study is anchored on Information Processing Theory; it adopted an exploratory sequential research design involving content analysis and descriptive survey research design. Qualitative data involved ten health advocacy organisations; through content analysis using non/frequency counts and contingency data analysis; quantitative data collection involved a sample of 323 undergraduates of Lead City University and Kola Daisi University using a self-developed 'Social Media Sickle Cell Advocacy Campaign Questionnaire' administered on Google forms and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, findings revealed that ten advocacy organisations have online presence majorly on Twitter (70%), Instagram (70%) and Facebook (70%); fully involved in providing online support services through informative sharing of educational contents, research 
findings, organising conferences and fundraising. Findings further revealed that the majority of the undergraduates have a good knowledge of SCD which suggested that online advocacy campaigns effectively enhance their knowledge. Again, there was a significant relationship between social media advocacy campaigns and the level of knowledge of SCD (0.701; P=0.000). The study concludes that social media platforms are potential and powerful tools for disseminating health information and suggests its intensive and proactive use among young people.