MSc Course Flyer

Master’s Degree

www.unic.ac.cy

MSc in Inherited Haemoglobin Disorders: Thalassaemia and Sickle Cell Syndromes (Blended)

GENERAL Inherited haemoglobin disorders are the commonest monogenic disorders affecting about 7% of the global population, with thalassemia spreading over the Mediterranean basin and Asia, and sickle cell syndromes being extremely frequent in Africa and the Indian subcontinent, areas where malaria used to be a devastating condition.

Throughout the years, migration and free population movement have caused these diseases to spread from the indigenous populations to almost every country of the world, impacting public health, and leading to economic and social repercussions that contribute significantly to the national and regional disease burden. Moreover, their proper management is often suboptimal, because of lack of resources and infrastructure and also because of inadequate medical knowledge and expertise.

In countries with lower incidence of thalassaemia and sickle cell disease, possibly introduced through population movements, inherited haemoglobin disorders are on the list of rare diseases and, as such, they seldom attract the due priority for the implementation of the necessary specific control programmes.

As a result, knowledge and expertise both on treating but also on globally managing these disorders remains extremely limited and patients are often misdiagnosed or undertreated, while the public health impact inevitably grows at a rapid rate.

Within this context, the limited expertise, in both the countries with high prevalence and those where the haemoglobin disorders are rare, has resulted in a long term request for a more specific education of medical specialists and paramedical personnel in order to improve patient management and provide guidance to policy makers at the national level to develop appropriate programmes for prevention.

This request is fully in keeping with the position of both the WHO and the EU, who, by recognising the importance of the inherited haemoglobin disorders, encourage member states to promote the control οf Thalassaemia and other Haemoglobinopathies by offering technical and other support, and to develop national plans to this effect (WHO 118th Executive Board Meeting, EB118.R1, «Thalassaemia and Other Haemoglobinopathies», May 2006; WHO 59th World Health Assembly, WHA59.20, «Sickle Cell Anaemia», May 2006; EU Recommendation on Rare Diseases, June 2009.

It is our belief that this request can be satisfactorily met by the joint educational activity of the University of Nicosia and the Thalassaemia International Federation, formally validated as a University of Nicosia Programme - a blended/hybrid course, the MSc in Inherited Haemogobin Disorders: Thalassaemia and Sickle Cell Syndromes. To our knowledge this is a unique programme with no other similar in Cyprus or abroad.

The University of Nicosia (UNic) is the largest private university in Cyprus, and it is an independent, co-educational, equal opportunity institution of higher education. International in philosophy, the University provides a multicultural learning environment, promoting friendship, cooperation and understanding. The University pursues excellence in education through research and high teaching standards, in a continually improving academic environment.

The Thalassaemia International Federation (TIF) is the official world body of patients and parents collaborating closely and officially with WHO since 1996, and with many other official and professional health bodies, the EU, the industry and patients’ organizations, in order to promote programmes for the control and management of these disorders across the world. Today TIF has 117 member associations from 57 countries of the world, and there is a vast network of health professionals in this field attached to TIF with vast experience and knowledge to support the development of management and control programmes in «affected» countries, who will also support the development and realisation of this MSc programme.

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The overall aim of the programme is to increase access of quality health care to patients with haemoglobin disorders (thalassaemia and sickle cell syndromes) through strengthening education, training and skills of medical specialists, as well as to support the development of effective management and control strategies globally through prevention and treatment.

Upon successful completion of this programme, the graduates should be able to:

The specific objectives of the programme are: 1. To develop an educational programme at the postgraduate level of Master of Science to cover the holistic care of haemoglobin disorders, addressed to medical specialists globally.

2. To utilise the knowledge, experience and expertise of a diverse range of medical and scientific disciplines from the different parts of the world, particularly Europe, where successful control programmes have been established and where wide research programmes have been conducted for developing the programme curriculum.

3. To bring the control of haemoglobin disorders, including the components of prevention and treatment, to the forefront of the agendas of health authorities at the national level and the regional and international level, including official bodies such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Union (EU), and to support their integration into established official programmes including non-communicable diseases or prevention of birth defects or rare diseases programmes in Europe.

4. To bring to the forefront of the agendas of professional health bodies, industry and research, the needs to allocate more resources and focus on further improvement in the care and total cure mainly of these diseases.

1. Demonstrate in-depth knowledge on how to treat patients with haemoglobin disorders with confidence.

2. Fully describe and utilise the knowledge on the genetics and pathophysiology as well as the natural history of these disorders in order to achieve the best possible outcomes; 3. Confidently interpret laboratory, radiological and other results both for the purposes of accurate diagnosis but also for the follow up of patients under treatment.

4. Evaluate the impact of the inherited haemoglobin disorders on the economical and public health aspects, understand their social repercussions and promote effective control programmes including effective prevention and appropriate clinical management.

5. Work and collaborate closely and guide policy makers on developing effective control programmes with official bodies, including WHO and the EU, and in promoting to Member States the implementation of the specific resolutions adopted by the WHO Executive Board Meeting and the World Health Assembly (WHA) in 2006 and the EU Recommendation of 2009, to Member States and/or their integration into their established programmes of non-communicable diseases or prevention of birth defects or rare diseases.

CAREER PROSPECTS There has been a long-term request from many countries around the world on the needs of education of medical specialists in the field to allow the promotion of these disorders on the national health agendas, and on the guidance of policy makers at the national level to develop appropriate programmes.

Therefore, graduates of this programme would have employment opportunities in universities, specialised health centers, government health offices, national associations and international offices promoting worldwide health (such as the WHO or international associations).

ACCESS TO FURTHER STUDIES We expect that a significant percentage of medical specialists who will acquire this MSc degree will have the interest, the motivation and the medical prerequisites to continue to further research and PhD.

ADMISSIONS CRITERIA General: 1. A University degree in Medicine, preferably with specialisation in the following disciplines: haematology or paediatric haematology or paediatrics or internal medicine.

OR 2. A University degree in Nursing, preferably with specialisation in a haemoglobin disorders or having demonstrated experience in haematological area / red cell pathology.

Specific: (if applicable) 1. Medical specialists who have not obtained their academic qualification from an English-speaking university must satisfactorily pass the IELTS (6.5) or TOEFL examination, or any other examination from an internationally approved body.

2. Basic computer skills.

Priority will be given to medical specialists already involved in the treatment of haemoglobin disorders in their country in the public sector.

DURATION OF STUDIES Three semesters (12 months if the summer session is utilised), plus a minimum of one week (40 hours) of ad-hoc clinical practice at an accredited Reference Centre for Haemoglobin Disorders.

STRUCTURE OF THE PROGRAMME To successfully complete the programme the student must either complete 90 ECTS of structured sessions or complete 70 ECTS of structured sessions and write a thesis (20 ECTS). In addition, the student must complete a minimum of 1 week (40 hours) of ad-hoc clinical practice at an accredited Reference Centre for Haemoglobin Disorders.

LANGUAGE OF THE PROGRAMME English

14071/200

ACADEMIC PATHWAY

ECTS

MAJOR REQUIREMENTS

70

THAL-511DL THAL-512DL THAL-513DL THAL-521DL THAL-522DL THAL-531DL THAL-532DL

10 10 10 10 10 10 10

Inherited Haemoglobin Disorders I Inherited Haemoglobin Disorders II Laboratory Aspects; Epidemiology; Statistical Methods Thalassaemia Clinica I Thalassaemia Clinica II Sickle Cell Syndromes Prevention and Cure

MAJOR ELECTIVES

20

THAL-523DL THAL-533DL

THAL-590DL

10 10

New Advances and Patient-Centred Services Key Issues Related to the Quality of Life of Patients with Haemoglobin Disorders Master’s Thesis

20 INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF NICOSIA Limassol Information Centre Tel.: +357 25381180 Email address: DL.Lim@unic.ac.cy Website: www.unic.ac.cy/DL