Bio
Lecturing, hosting tutorials and examining medical trainees.
Involved in giving talks locally, regionally, and internationally.
Consultant Rheumatologist, Queen Elizabeth Hospital 1997- June 2023. As the first and sole rheumatologist in Barbados, I started the rheumatology clinic, along with the in-patient consult service and initiated formal teaching in a wide range of rheumatic diseases.
Founding member of the Caribbean Association for Rheumatology (CAR- 2007)
Medical Advisor, Hope Foundation. Barbados 1995- present. The Hope Foundation is an advocacy group for patients with Lupus, Arthritis, and Sickle Cell disease.
Qualifications
- MBBS (UWI, 1988)
- DM Internal Medicine (UWI, 1994)
- Fellowship in Rheumatology, University of Minnesota (1994)
- Specialty Certificate in Rheumatology, Royal College of Physicians & British Society of Rheumatology (2018)
- Fellow of the American College of Rheumatology
- Fellow of the American College of Physicians
- Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians
Research Areas
Epidemiology and clinical manifestations of rheumatic disease in Barbados.
Documentation of the following in Barbados-:
- The epidemiology of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
- Management and renal outcomes in lupus nephritis
- Minimum best practice in management of SLE
- Factors affecting medication adherence in SLE
- Neuropsychiatric complications of SLE
- Clinical aspects of dermatomyositis
- Clinical aspects of Scleroderma
Barbados Lupus Study. Alliance for Lupus Research (New York) Grant, 2007. This grant facilitated a total population survey of lupus with the resultant establishment of a lupus registry at the Chronic Disease Research Centre in Barbados from which very robust epidemiologic data has been derived.
Rheumatology Registry Grant, Arnott Cato Foundation Barbados 2007. The grant facilitated the establishment of a rheumatic disease registry.
Cognitive dysfunction, health illiteracy and poor perceived self-efficacy as barriers to medication adherence in women with systemic lupus erythematosus study involving 106 women with lupus. Arnott Cato Foundation, Barbados grant 2014.
Teaching Areas
Rheumatology instruction for medical students and DM Internal Medicine residents
Publications
- Flower C, Hennis AJ, Hambleton IR, Nicholson GD, Liang MH. Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in an African-Caribbean population: incidence, clinical manifestations, and survival in the Barbados National Lupus Registry. Arthritis Care and Research 2012; 64: 1151-1158
- Flower C. Assessment of SLE activity for acute clinical decision-making. Lupus Sci Med/BMJ 2021 Feb; 8(1):e000484.
- Flower C. Diffuse systemic sclerosis, skin bleaching and telangiectasia. Arthritis Rheumatol 2022;74:262.
- Boyce M. Flower C. Tripe palms. Images in Clinical Medicine, N Engl J Med 2022;387:355
- Surveillance and management strategies for lupus nephritis: A practical summary guide for clinical settings lacking specialist care and expert histopathology. Flower C, Grosvenor EM, Dottin D. Afr J Rheumatol 2024; 11(1): 42-45.
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Additional Info
Book Publication
Lupus Essentials booklet- Lessons learned about the diagnosis, misdiagnosis, and management of SLE. Cindy Flower, Shelley Weir. December 2021.
This was featured by the American College of Rheumatology in their monthly publication “The Rheumatologist”, December 2021.
Keywords
Rheumatology
Lupus