Twelve tips for teaching a comprehensive disease-focused course with a global perspective: A sickle cell disease example

Abstract

A disease-focused course entitled “Understanding Sickle Cell Disease: A Biopsychosocial Approach” addressed the complex nature of SCD using patient-centered, global and interdisciplinary approaches. Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a rare inherited blood disorder that requires multidisciplinary care. Worldwide 20–25 million individuals have SCD, which is associated with a shortened lifespan due to many medical complications and social and behavioral health challenges. Health care professionals often have limited knowledge of SCD as they typically learn about it within the context of their own disciplines. This article provides twelve tips for educators that can be used to develop a similar course on any disease, with considerations for both low- and high-resource countries. The tips were devised from personal experience and available literature. Through these twelve tips, we provide a practical framework for increasing knowledge of complex diseases like SCD using a comprehensive elective course.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Gail Aiken, Earma Johnson and Shenika Richardson, as well as the other individuals with sickle cell disease that contributed to the rich discussions throughout our course. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experiences, both good and bad.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Notes on the contributors

Dominique Bulgin, PhD(c), RN, is a doctoral candidate at the School of Nursing at Duke University. Her research focuses on understanding the relationships between stigma of sickle cell disease, self-management strategies, and quality of life.

Paula Tanabe, PhD, RN, FAEN, FAAN, is a full professor in the School of Nursing at Duke University. Her program of research focuses on improving systems of care to facilitate better patient outcomes and quality of life for those living with sickle cell disease.

Monika Asnani, DM, PhD, is a Family Physician and a Senior Lecturer at the Sickle Cell Unit at UWI in Jamaica. She provides healthcare to persons of all ages with SCD. She is involved in clinical teaching of various medical professionals on management of persons with SCD. Her research focuses on psychosocial determinants and outcomes in SCD, and renal complications of SCD.

Charmaine D. M. Royal, MS, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Departments of African & African American Studies, Biology, and Community & Family Medicine at Duke University. Her research and teaching focus on ethical and social issues in genetics and genomics, particularly the intersection of “race” and genetics, including implications and interventions regarding sickle cell disease.

Additional information

Funding

Dr. Tanabe is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health (U01HL133964, 1R01NR015348) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (R18 RHS024501A). This funding was not associated with the project described in this manuscript. The course grew out of a collaboration (“Integrative Global Health Research on Sickle Cell Disease”; PI: Dr. Royal) funded by Bass Connections, Duke University.