ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Education and Promotion
Assessing Educational Needs of Sickle Cell Anemia Healthcare Providers in sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean
Provisionally accepted
- 1Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, United States
- 2University of Cincinnati Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati, United States
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Objectives. Sickle cell anemia (SCA) causes childhood morbidity and mortality in resource-limited settings. Identifying educational needs of healthcare providers allows implementation of targeted programs using evidenced-based methods. Methods. Qualitative data using semi-structured online interviews and surveys were collected from sites across eight countries. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded for thematic analysis. Results. Eighteen healthcare providers (50% female) from six countries in Africa and the Caribbean were recruited. Four overarching themes emerged: (1) few training opportunities; (2) personal payment for training; (3) busy clinic schedules so training occurs on personal time; and (4) travel constraints for attending conferences. All participants requested virtual telementoring for continuing education and emphasized an interactive format. Conclusions. This needs assessment highlights the opportunity to implement telementoring educational programs like Project ECHO©, to increase knowledge among multidisciplinary healthcare providers treating children with SCA in resource-limited settings. A high level of interest and engagement exists among providers for education via established North-South partnerships. Telementoring represents an opportunity for capacity building with evidence-based treatment and increased access to knowledgeable providers, leading to improved patient outcomes.
Keywords: Sickle cell anaemia, global health, Capacity Building, Provider education, hydroxurea
Received: 26 Aug 2025; Accepted: 21 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Latham, Ware and Shook. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Teresa Latham, teresa.latham@cchmc.org
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