Welcome to this course on Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), developed to support you in understanding and managing one of the most significant inherited blood disorders globally. SCD poses a substantial public health burden, particularly in malaria-endemic regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa, where the majority of cases occur. As a pharmacist, you are uniquely positioned to influence outcomes across the care continuum, from early recognition and counselling to the provision and monitoring of essential therapies.
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What you can expect in this course:
- Module 1 provides foundational knowledge on the epidemiology, genetic basis, and pathophysiology of SCD which is critical for care providers involved in screening, community education, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
- Module 2 focuses on the management of SCD, emphasising both routine and emergency care.
- Module 3 presents a real-world clinical case study of a young boy living with undiagnosed SCD in a semi-rural African setting. This scenario-based module integrates learning from the previous modules, encouraging you to apply your knowledge to practical decision-making in patient care, particularly in resource-limited environments.
By completing this course, you will be better equipped to support individuals living with SCD through informed counselling, rational prescribing, effective monitoring, and timely referral. Your role is not only clinical but also educational and advocacy-based, especially in regions where access to early diagnosis and comprehensive care remains limited. Through this training, you will enhance your ability to contribute meaningfully to the multidisciplinary care of people with SCD, helping to improve outcomes and quality of life across the Commonwealth.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
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- Define the genetic basis of sickle cell disease.
- Explain the pathophysiology of sickle cell disease and its clinical presentation.
- Discuss the epidemiology of sickle cell disease.
- Identify appropriate pharmacological management of acute and chronic management of sickle cell disease.
- Describe key components of patient-centred care essential for optimal care for sickle cell patients.
- Explain the role of pharmacists in screening and prevention of sickle cell disease complications.
Behaviour Change
Therefore, we have intentionally designed certain parts of the course to encourage reflection, challenge assumptions and strengthen your confidence and motivation to support patients more effectively throughout their care journey. We hope to promote positive changes, with a priority on improving the following behaviours among pharmacists and other healthcare professionals:
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- Proactively recognise early signs of acute SCD complications, such as vaso-occlusive crises, infections and severe anaemia, and respond appropriately with timely and evidence-based interventions.
- Raise awareness of SCD and its impact on patients and families, addressing stigma and myths, pre-marital/pre-conception counselling and newborn screening – e.g on World Sickle Cell Day (June 19th)
- Collaborate with patients and multidisciplinary teams to reinforce preventive strategies, including vaccination, infection prophylaxis and malaria prevention, especially in high-risk regions.
While the core course content is designed to enhance your knowledge and skills, each module also includes a dedicated behaviour change section. In these sections, you will be encouraged to reflect on your current practices, consider any barriers to change and explore practical strategies to improve care delivery. We will also highlight helpful tools and resources you can use in practice.
To get the most from this course, we strongly encourage you to engage fully with these behaviour-focused sections.
This course should take approximately 3.5 hours to complete.
Published: July 2025
Review date: June 2027
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Course Includes
- 8 Modules
- 8 Topics
- 5 Quizzes
- Course Certificate
