Awareness and Knowledge of Retinoblastoma among Pregnant Women in Nigeria

Background: Retinoblastoma is a rare, curable but deadly intra ocular tumor affecting usually children under 5 years of age. Awareness, early detection and treatment determine vision preservation and patient’s survival. In low- and middle-income countries majority of children present very late because of poor awareness of early signs of retinoblastoma.

Aim: To determine the awareness and knowledge of retinoblastoma among pregnant women in Anambra State, Nigeria.

Methods: This study was a cross sectional study that was carried out among 246 antenatal attendee in a private specialist hospital in Anambra state between March 2023 to August 2023. It was done using a validated, self-administered and interviewer-administered questionnaire which included 25 well-structured questions concerning awareness of retinoblastoma. Data obtained were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 26 statistical package. Participants' responses were anonymized and analyzed. Continuous variables were analyzed while bivariate analysis was done using chi-square whereas binary logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with retinoblastoma awareness. The test of significant was p-value <0.05.

Results: Two hundred and forty six women participated in this survey. Of the women who participated in this survey, 84.2% reported not having heard of retinoblastoma. The majority heard it via health workers (40.0%). However, majority of the participants do not know that retinoblastoma can affect children (49.3%), or can be inherited from parents (63.3%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified two variables that might influence retinoblastoma awareness: occupation (trader) of the husband (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.63, 95% CI = 1.07-6.49; p=0.035) and childbearing (aOR=5.83, 95% CI = 1.14-9.20; p=0.046).

Conclusion: Nigerian pregnant women had appallingly low levels of awareness and information of retinoblastoma during pregnancy. There was a correlation between the participants' level of knowledge about retinoblastoma and their husband's occupation, and having children. These results could lead to improved ophthalmic practices and the development of successful public health programmes, ultimately benefiting the health of Nigerian pregnant women and children. It will take more research to examine this connection.