In 2007, ASH conducted a national survey to determine the public's level of awareness of blood disorders and hematology. Survey results revealed that Americans have low awareness of hematology, blood diseases, and health risks. When asked to name a common blood condition, only a small minority were able to identify common conditions like anemia, blood clotting, hemophilia, and deep-vein thrombosis, and only one in five people could define hematology. These results underscore the public's need for easy-to-understand resources on blood disorders and guidance on the role of hematologists in the health-care team.
To address this need and help people understand just how important blood is to their overall health, ASH has launched Blood: The Vital Connection, a public education campaign that provides credible information on many different blood diseases as well as risk factors, prevention strategies, and treatment options. An exciting component of this campaign is a documentary on hematology produced by award-winning filmmaker Joseph Lovett and supported by ASH, NHLBI, NIDDK, NCI, and NCRR. "Blood Detectives" shows the vital role hematologists play in treating complex medical conditions and in conducting basic research that leads to life-saving treatments. Mark your calendar to catch the film's premiere on the Discovery Health cable network on December 19 at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT, and look for more details at this year's annual meeting.
As we all know, millions of Americans are affected by blood disorders each day, and more and more are using the Internet as their primary source of information. We encourage you to refer your patients to the Blood: The Vital Connection Web site at www.bloodthevitalconnection.org for reliable information on anemia, bleeding and clotting disorders, blood cancers, and women's blood-related health issues. The site also provides information about participating in clinical trials and a "Find a Hematologist" tool, which allows patients or their health care providers to search for a hematologist by location or specialty.
The site also includes valuable career resources for medical students, and, over the coming weeks, we plan to add blood disease animations, short videos, and more details about the documentary.
We need your help getting the word out about the important resources at www.bloodthevitalconnection.org. Please join us in raising awareness about blood diseases and the important work hematologists do by sharing this site with your patients, family, and friends.
