Resumen de CAREST--Multilingual Regional Integration for Health Promotion and Research on Sickle Cell Disease and Thalassemia.

Jennifer Knight-Madden, Marc Romana, Rinaldo Villaescusa, Marvin Reid, Maryse Etienne-Julan, Laurence Boutin, Gisèle Elana, Narcisse Elenga, Gillian Wheeler, Ketty Lee, Rosa Nieves, Althea Jones Lecointe, Marie-Laure Lalanne-Mistrih, Gylna Loko, Lisiane Keclard-Christophe, Marie Dominique Hardy-Dessources

• Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a significant problem in the Caribbean, where many individuals have African and Asian forebears. However, reliable prevalence data and specific health care programs for SCD are often missing in this region. Closer collaboration between Caribbean territories initiated in 2006 to set up strategies to promote better equity in the health care system for SCD patients led to the formation of CAREST: the Caribbean Network of Researchers on Sickle Cell Disease and Thalassemia. We present the effectiveness of collaborations established by CAREST to promote SCD newborn screening programs and early childhood care, to facilitate health worker training and approaches for prevention and treatment of SCD complications, and to carry out inter-Caribbean research studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]