Behavioural Determinants of Health Belief Model Constructs Among Individuals with Sickle Cell Disease in Edo State, Nigeria

Sickle cell disease (SCD) remains one of the most important inherited blood disorders and ncontinues to constitute a major public health challenge in Nigeria, which bears the highest global burden of affected births. Despite improvements in diagnosis and clinical management, preventable complications continue to contribute substantially to morbidity, repeated healthcare utilisation and reduced quality of life because long-term outcomes are strongly shaped by patients’ health beliefs, behavioural practices and healthcare-seeking decisions. This study investigated the behavioural determinants of Health Belief Model (HBM) constructs among individuals living with sickle cell disease attending selected healthcare facilities in Edo State, Nigeria. A hospital-based descriptive cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among 312 individuals receiving routine sickle cell care. A structured questionnaire assessed socio demographic characteristics, disease knowledge, genotype awareness, premarital counselling knowledge, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, cues to action and self-efficacy. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression to identify independent predictors of favourable health beliefs. The findings showed that adequate knowledge of sickle cell disease, awareness of personal haemoglobin genotype, knowledge of premarital genotype counselling, regular clinic attendance and stronger perceptions of the benefits of preventive healthcare were independently associated with favourable HBM constructs, whereas perceived barriers significantly reduced the likelihood of positive health beliefs. The study demonstrates that behavioural determinants are fundamental drivers of preventive healthcare utilisation among individuals living with sickle cell disease in Edo State. Integrating behavioural counselling into routine clinical management, strengthening genotype awareness programmes, expanding patient-centred health education and reducing structural barriers to care may substantially improve treatment adherence, disease self-management and health outcomes among people living with sickle cell disease in Nigeria.