Exploring Telemedicine and Self-Management Practices of Transitioning Adults with Sickle Cell Disease

Exploring Telemedicine and Self-Management Practices of Transitioning Adults with Sickle Cell Disease Background: Globally over 300,000 are born with sickle cell disease (SCD), over 100,000 children are in the US. SCD is an inherited blood disease that is associated with morbidity and early death. Despite the research to date on self-management practices for young adults, little is known how telemedicine can impact the quality of life of young adults with SCD. Objective: The aim is to evaluate the most recent evidence in the literature to determine how young adults with SCD use telemedicine as part of self-management to increase their quality of life. Methods: A systematic review of the literature in 3 bibliographic databases, using key search terms, sickle cell Disease, transition adults, self-management, telemedicine considering only articles published from 2015 - 2020. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews guideline was followed. Results: A total of 26 records were identified from the combined electronic searches, and 4 records were removed as duplicates. A total of 22 full articles were further assessed for eligibility, 13 articles met the review criteria. Self-management is central to transition adults with sickle cell disease; telemedicine services can close the gaps related to the challenges of self-management strategies. Conclusions: Telemedicine clinical practices can enhance self-management strategies and promote treatment plans that can improve quality of life for transition SCD adults. Keywords: Sickle Cell Anemia Patients, Self-Management Practices, Telemedicine Service