A mobile unit as an adjunct to a community outreach program of education, screening, and counseling for sickle cell disease, nutritional anemia, and hypertension.

This paper describes the use of a mobile health unit as a part of a community education, screening, and counseling program. By virtue of its mobility and more flexible hours, this model extends services into the basic urban, suburban, and rural community. Quality control of the diagnostic and counseling activities on the unit is maintained through supervision by the full-time staff of the Howard University Center for Sickle Cell Disease. The program is a part of the University Health Science complex which provides backup consultation and referral sources. The mobile health unit is equipped with a laboratory and waiting, education, and counseling areas; it operates in conjunction with a speakers bureau which conducts a significant portion of the community education. Referrals are made from the unit to a variety of community resources but primarily for additional education and counseling for sickle cell and follow-up services for elevated blood pressure and low and borderline hemoglobin levels.