Integrating Datasets on Public Health and Clinical Aspects of Sickle Cell Disease for Effective Community-Based Research and Practice

Abstract

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic disease that has multiple aspects including public health and clinical aspects. The goals of the research study were to (1) understand the public health aspects of sickle cell disease, and (2) understand the overlap between public health aspects and clinical aspects that can inform research and practice beneficial to stakeholders in sickle cell disease management. The approach involved the construction of datasets from textual data sources produced by experts on sickle cell disease including from landmark publications published in 2020 on sickle cell disease in the United States. The interactive analytics of the integrated datasets that we produced identified that community-based approaches are common to both public health and clinical aspects of sickle cell disease. An interactive visualization that we produced can aid the understanding of the alignment of governmental organizations to recommendations for addressing sickle cell disease in the United States. From a global perspective, the interactive analytics of the integrated datasets can support the knowledge transfer stage of the SICKLE recommendations (Skills transfer, Increasing self-efficacy, Coordination, Knowledge transfer, Linking to adult services, and Evaluating readiness) for effective pediatric to adult transition care for patients with sickle cell disease. Considering the increased digital transformations resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the constructed datasets from expert recommendations can be integrated within remote digital platforms that expand access to care for individuals living with sickle cell disease. Finally, the interactive analytics of integrated expert recommendations on sickle cell disease management can support individual and team expertise for effective community-based research and practice.