Assessing the quality of care for haemophilia at the Yaoundé reference treatment Centre of Cameroon

Abstract

With a recently established Haemophilia Treatment Centre (HTC) in Yaoundé, Cameroon, over a hundred people living with haemophilia have been recruited and followed up at this centre. This study aimed at assessing the quality of haemophilia care provided at the HTC, in order to monitor and improve patient care. In February 2014, the HTC was assessed using recommended markers. Although few, the logistics and reagents for the diagnosis and treatment of haemophilia were available. There were seven trained workers involved with haemophilia care, but the multidisciplinary care team was incomplete. A total of 113 people living with haemophilia (all males) had been registered and regularly followed up at the HTC. This study showed that the HTC of the Yaoundé University Teaching Hospital, although not yet ideal, allows for some degree of haemophilia patient care. Hence, it may be recommended to improve the centre and make it fully established in Cameroon.

Haemophilia in Côte d’Ivoire (the Ivory Coast) in 2017: Extensive data collection as part of the World Federation of Hemophilia’s twinning programme

“…As a rare, chronic and cost‐intensive condition, haemophilia is obviously not a priority in developing countries where governments focus their limited resources on public health issues, such as nutrition, immunization, sanitation and treatment of infectious diseases . In sub‐Saharan African countries, research on haemophilia is limited, with data mainly coming from South Africa, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Cameroon . Epidemiological data on haemophilia in the Ivory Coast are scarce .…”

Optimizing Haemophilia Care in Resource-Limited Countries: Current Challenges and Future Prospects

“…In 2017, their analysis of the Quality of Life (QoL) in PLWH in the HTC in Yaoundé, and despite not meeting the ideal international standards, Nzometia et al reported significant improvement in the QoL of those using the facility. 15 Nevertheless, a few HTCs including that of Senegal in Dakar have both improved diagnosis, care and capacity building of care personnel. 16 This HTC has evolved to become a training center on hemophilia care, and hosting several workshops and seminars.…”

Unravelling the knowledge, beliefs, behaviours and concerns of Persons with Haemophilia and their carriers in Senegal

“…In Senegal, for example, a study reports a prevalence of 2.3/100 000 male births, accounting for only 11.6% of the expected figure in the country 2 . Very few studies have focused on haemophilia in sub‐Saharan Africa, the epidemiological data being mainly obtained from Senegal, 2 South Africa, 3 Zimbabwe, 4 Nigeria, 5 Cameroon 6 and Ivory Coast 7,8 . These studies highlight worrying trends as reported by Diop et al 2 who emphasize that most of the patients die very early in their childhood, during untreated haemorrhagic episodes due to the inaccessibility of factor concentrates replacement.…”