For health care professionals

INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS

 

For general practitioners, nurses, specialists, and other healthcare professionals.

Below you will find some of the common health issues associated with persons with albinism and some useful links to further resources.

 

  • SKIN CANCER PREVENTION

 

Without the protective pigment melanin, people with albinism are highly vulnerable to skin cancer. Inadequate skin screening provision, lethally slow rates of diagnosis and an appalling lack of sun protection education, sunscreen, wide-brimmed hats and protective clothing have given epidemic prevalence to this otherwise preventable disease.

For further informationon skin cancer revention and albinism, read about the programme run by the NGO, Standing Voice, in Tanzania – a blueprint to be replicated and expanded across Sub-Saharan Africa.

VIEW HERE

 

  • LOW VISION CARE

 

Albinism causes a melanin deficiency that reduces pigmentation in the eye. People with albinism have a complex visual impairment, with altered retinal development and nerve connections to the eye. In albinism, the front and back of the eye develop differently, and nerve connections between the eye and brain are altered. Albinism does not cause total blindness, although many with the condition are classified as ‘legally blind’. Persons with albinism can usually distinguish colours, but their vision will typically lack precision or detail.

 

ARTICLES on low vision care and albinism for medical professionals

VIEW HERE 

 

LOW VISION CARE PROGRAMMES

Read about the programme run by Standing Voice in Tanzania. Standing Voice has a network of clinics delivering low vision care and devices to people with albinism across Tanzania. The network enables students with albinism to achieve their educational and professional potential.

VIEW HERE 

 

  • LINKS TO CURRENT MEDICAL RESEARCH PROJECTS

VIEW HERE 

 

  • INFORMATION BULLETINS for HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS

Provided by NOAH, the National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation.

These bulletins may be useful in discussions with educators, doctors, childcare providers, or other people who may need a little more information about albinism.

PDFs available in English and Spanish.

VIEW HERE 

 

  • INFORMATION ON ALBINISM FROM THE NHS:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/albinism/

 

Please see our List of Resources, a list of publications on albinism in Africa.