Improving the Quality of Childhood Cancer Care in Northern Uganda
INCTR is working with its partner, St Mary’s Hospital Lacor (LH) Gulu, Uganda to improve the quality of childhood cancer care for children and adolescents treated at LH. St Mary’s Hospital is the second largest hospital in Uganda and is the only hospital capable of diagnosing and treating pediatric cancer in northern Uganda. Since 2010, INCTR and LH have worked together to treat newly diagnosed patients with Burkitt lymphoma (BL) – which accounts for 50% of childhood cancers in equatorial Africa. Based upon the excellent results achieved with a uniform treatment protocol for BL (which included a salvage regimen for those who failed initial therapy), it was agreed that more should be done to improve the quality of care for all children with cancer seen at LH. This project is just at its beginning and its objectives are:
The major achievements of this project to date include
- To provide professional education for health-care personnel within the region to ensure that children and adolescents with suspected cancer are referred promptly to LH.
- To increase the awareness about the signs and symptoms of pediatric cancer through community-engagement.
- To increase access for children and adolescents with suspected cancer to appropriate treatment based upon an accurate diagnosis.
- To provide training and education to the staff at LH in all aspects of care.
- To strengthen the available psychosocial support for patients and their families.
- To ensure that children and adolescents have access to school while undergoing treatment.
For more information about this project, contact info@inctr.be.