Re: https://www.hifa.org/dgroups-rss/who-recommendations-management-sickle-c...
Dear Esther,
Thank you for pointing us to the new WHO recommendations on sickle-cell disease: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240109124
The authors note:
'In some instances, health-care providers lack knowledge and understanding of SCD and the underlying genetics (18, 19, 20, 21). While highlighting the lack of knowledge, this guideline emphasizes the need for education, training, and accurate and accessible information about SCD among health-care providers'
Would anyone like to comment on this?
Also, the guidance addresses the information needs of patients:
'A pain-management plan can support self-care strategies (based on awareness of precipitating factors such as dehydration, change in altitude, extremes in temperature, infections and physical and psychological stress), as well as providing guidance to health-care providers to support timely interventions responsive to the needs of the individual woman taking into consideration the woman’s knowledge of effective pain medications and doses, and past experience with side-effects. To be effective, a plan needs to be actionable for the individual woman given her living situation and available resources, while meeting her clinical needs.'
This last point emphasises the importance of information that is not only reliable, but is relevant to the person's specific context.
Many thanks,
Neil
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org