The College of Pharmacy (CPH) at Qatar University (QU) recently held a campaign to raise awareness about anaemia among QU students.
The event was organised by members of the Qatar Pharmacy Undergraduate Society (QPhUS), representing first professional year (P1) through fourth professional year (P4) pharmacy students, under the guidance and supervision of QU faculty members.
The aim of the campaign was to educate the public, particularly youth, about different types of anaemia, screening and early detection, signs and symptoms, myths and various treatment modalities, QU said in a statement.
CPH students set up a booth that included three main interactive stations.
At the first station, CPH students simulated each person’s ‘blood sample’ with the blood type labelled on it and then briefed visitors on the major principles of anaemia.
At the second station, students interacted with visitors by giving them general information about anaemia, its signs and symptoms, and testing them through trivia.
The third station was intended to assess the basic knowledge of visitors by asking them multiple-choice questions and then explaining the correct answers.
CPH dean Dr Mohamed Diab said: “CPH is very proud of its students for leading the initiative for the Anaemia Outreach Campaign aimed at raising public awareness on an important and common topic. It is also a great chance to develop the students professionally and improve their leadership skills. This aligns with Qatar National Vision 2030, which targets human development, concentrates on building world-class education systems and creates an efficient and committed workforce that makes way for a competitive labour market.”
Assistant professor in the Clinical Pharmacy and Practice section, Dr Ziad Nasr, said: “Our students did an amazing job setting up the booth, which attracted various visitors including students, staff and faculty members, even from other colleges. I saw how enthusiastic our students were about the topic, despite being in their early professional years, and how passionate and devoted they were to deliver information and interact with the crowd.”
QPhUS president and fourth-year pharmacy student Sara Thiab, said: “The World Health Organisation defines a seven-star pharmacist as a leader, teacher, caregiver, decision maker, life-long-learner, manager and most importantly a communicator. Our profession has grown to make us health promoters. So, even as students, we must practise being communicators, by spreading the knowledge we are gaining. It is our responsibility to raise awareness among our peers to improve health literacy among Qatar’s youth.”
CHP students on the awareness campaign.
