Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is caused by a common genetic variation that affects a person’s red blood cells. This SNAPSHOT explores why the variant that can cause red blood cells to sickle is more common in people with ancestry from certain parts of the world. It also provides students an opportunity to consider some perspectives of people with SCD.
PROJECT NARRATIVE: Genetic counseling and health education are essential components of any early diagnosis program for sickle cell disease to ensure that risk results are effectively communicated by healthcare workers to those at-risk couples and their families. These are also important within the context of culture and health literacy because health beliefs and attitudes of the general public have a significant impact on health seeking behaviors that substantially influence reproductive decisions made by individuals and families.
PROJECT NARRATIVE The proposed study will use surveys and in-depth interviews from National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletes and their parents to determine the extent and nature of parental involvement sickle cell trait (SCT) screening. This project will assess whether parental characteristics predict differences in athletes' decisions to receive or opt out of SCT screening.
H3Africa provides an unprecedented opportunity to study genetic and genomic technologies into research, diagnosis, intervention, and treatment for sickle cell disease (SCD) in Africa. As such, involving a few African Centers already involved in the forefront of Sickle Cell Disease Research in Africa with moderate expertise on psychosocial research (Cameroon), newborn screening (Ghana) or genomics studies (Tanzania) could serves as a reservoir for rigorous examination of a wide range of accompanying ethical, psychosocial, cultural, and policy issues.