A MODEL FOR THE IMPLEMENTION OF SICKLE CELL DISEASE ANDTRAIT EDUCATION INTO PUBLIC SCHOOL HEALTH CLASSES AT THEMIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL

Since September 1992, Sickle Cell Trait (SCT) has been a standard on the state of Pennsylvania's newborn screen. Therefore, as of 2006, all middle school aged children will have had newborn screening. Currently, no information about Sickle Cell Disease or trait is included in the curriculum of the Pittsburgh Public Schools (K-12). There are three goals for this project: To educate the teenagers of Pennsylvania about Sickle Cell Disease and Trait, teaching them what their trait or disease status means for their health, and for their future children's health; To provide the schools with an appropriate curriculum and; To create a module that can be repeated in school systems throughout the country.Approval of funding by the Pittsburgh Public Schools Board of Education allowed for the hiring of three teachers to aid in the writing of an appropriate curriculum. The curriculum includes three lessons that involve watching a video, writing informational materials, learning about genetics, and creating a poster.To assess this program and its effectiveness, health teachers critiqued the curriculum designed by their peers and provided feedback on ways to improve the implementation of new health material to existing lesson plans. After making modifications from this feedback, future projects may include adding a Sickle Cell Disease and Trait curriculum into the high school and eventually elementary schools. We would like to eventually share the curriculum online through a dependable source so schools throughout the nation have access to the lesson plans. The project is relevant to the field of public health because it directly educates individuals about SCT and SCD at an early age. They will be able to reference this information in the future when they are faced with making reproductive decisions