Points of Impact: Sarah Reeves

Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder that can cause excruciating pain episodes and significantly increases the risk of stroke, infection, and other serious health issues.

Preventive care measures can greatly improve some of these symptoms for people living with this disease. Yet while long-standing recommendations emphasize the importance of these preventive services, particularly for children, their delivery remains suboptimal, and uneven.

Sarah Reeves, Ph.D., research assistant professor with the U-M Child Health Evaluation and Research (CHEAR) Center, explains why measuring the quality of care provided to children with sickle cell disease is critical for addressing inequities in care and improving health outcomes.