Cancer Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries Affected by Humanitarian Crises

2021 ◽  
pp. 539-574
Author(s):  
Jude Alawa ◽  
Adam Coutts ◽  
Kaveh Khoshnood
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Care ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Humanitarian Crises ◽  
Low And Middle Income

scholarly journals Development of immunohistochemistry services for cancer care in western Kenya: Implications for low- and middle-income countries

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirtika Patel ◽  
R. Matthew Strother ◽  
Francis Ndiangui ◽  
David Chumba ◽  
William Jacobson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Care ◽  
Cost Model ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Care Hospital ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Western Kenya ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Resource Limited ◽  
Limited Setting ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Background: Cancer is becoming a major cause of mortality in low- and middle-income countries. Unlike infectious disease, malignancy and other chronic conditions require significant supportive infrastructure for diagnostics, staging and treatment. In addition to morphologic diagnosis, diagnostic pathways in oncology frequently require immunohistochemistry (IHC) for confirmation. We present the experience of a tertiary-care hospital serving rural western Kenya, which developed and validated an IHC laboratory in support of a growing cancer care service.Objectives, methods and outcomes: Over the past decade, in an academic North-South collaboration, cancer services were developed for the catchment area of Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in western Kenya. A major hurdle to treatment of cancer in a resource-limited setting has been the lack of adequate diagnostic services. Building upon the foundations of a histology laboratory, strategic investment and training were used to develop IHC services. Key elements of success in this endeavour included: translation of resource-rich practices to are source-limited setting, such as using manual, small-batch IHC instead of disposable- and maintenance-intensive automated machinery, engagement of outside expertise to develop reagent-efficient protocols and supporting all levels of staff to meet the requirements of an external quality assurance programme.Conclusion: Development of low- and middle-income country models of services, such as the IHC laboratory presented in this paper, is critical for the infrastructure in resource-limited settings to address the growing cancer burden. We provide a low-cost model that effectively develops these necessary services in a challenging laboratory environment.

scholarly journals Editorial series: cancer care in low- and middle-income countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 477-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörg Haier ◽  
Jonathan Sleeman ◽  
Jürgen Schäfers
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Care ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Low And Middle Income

scholarly journals Structural Barriers to Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: The Urgent Need for Scaling Up

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Cazap ◽  
Ian Magrath ◽  
T. Peter Kingham ◽  
Ahmed Elzawawy
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Access To Care ◽  
Cancer Care ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Diagnosis And Treatment ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Care Systems ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Noncommunicable diseases are now recognized by the United Nations and WHO as a major public health crisis. Cancer is a main part of this problem, and health care systems are facing a great challenge to improve cancer care, control costs, and increase systems efficiency. The disparity in access to care and outcomes between high-income countries and low- and middle-income countries is staggering. The reasons for this disparity include cost, access to care, manpower and training deficits, and a lack of awareness in the lay and medical communities. Diagnosis and treatment play an important role in this complex environment. In different regions and countries of the world, a variety of health care systems are in place, but most of them are fragmented or poorly coordinated. The need to scale up cancer care in the low- and middle-income countries is urgent, and this article reviews many of the structural mechanisms of the problem, describes the current situation, and proposes ways for improvement. The organization of cancer services is also included in the analysis.

scholarly journals Examining the use of economic evaluations in health-related humanitarian programmes in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lizna A Makhani ◽  
Valerie Moran ◽  
Zia Sadique ◽  
Neha S Singh ◽  
Paul Revill ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Economic Evaluation ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
Economic Evaluations ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
System Perspective ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Humanitarian Crises ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Abstract The costly nature of health sector responses to humanitarian crises and resource constraints means that there is a need to identify methods for priority setting and long-term planning. One method is economic evaluation. The aim of this systematic review is to examine the use of economic evaluations in health-related humanitarian programmes in low- and middle-income countries. This review used peer-reviewed literature published between January 1980 and June 2018 extracted from four main electronic bibliographic databases. The eligibility criteria were full economic evaluations (which compare the costs and outcomes of at least two interventions and provide information on efficiency) of health-related services in humanitarian crises in low- and middle-countries. The quality of eligible studies is appraised using the modified 36-question Drummond checklist. From a total of 8127 total studies, 11 full economic evaluations were identified. All economic evaluations were cost-effectiveness analyses. Three of the 11 studies used a provider perspective, 2 studies used a healthcare system perspective, 3 studies used a societal perspective and 3 studies did not specify the perspective used. The lower quality studies failed to provide 7information on the unit of costs and did not justify the time horizon of costs and discount rates, or conduct a sensitivity analysis. There was limited geographic range of the studies, with 9 of the 11 studies conducted in Africa. Recommendations include greater use of economic evaluation methods and data to enhance the microeconomic understanding of health interventions in humanitarian settings to support greater efficiency and transparency and to strengthen capacity by recruiting economists and providing training in economic methods to humanitarian agencies.

scholarly journals Delays and Barriers to Cancer Care in Low‐ and Middle‐Income Countries: A Systematic Review

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan R. Brand ◽  
Liang G. Qu ◽  
Ann Chao ◽  
André M. Ilbawi
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Cancer Care ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Low And Middle Income

scholarly journals Analysis of Social Science Research Into Cancer Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Improving Global Cancer Control Through Greater Interdisciplinary Research

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Caduff ◽  
Mac Skelton ◽  
Dwaipayan Banerjee ◽  
Darja Djordjevic ◽  
Marissa Mika ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Interdisciplinary Research ◽  
Cancer Care ◽  
Science Studies ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Research And Policy ◽  
Low And Middle Income

This analysis lays a framework for greater collaboration between the cancer community and social scientists in both research and policy. We argue that the growing cancer burden that low- and middle-income countries face is raising social, political, and economic challenges of global cancer that require interdisciplinary research beyond the traditional biomedical-clinical nexus. First, we briefly review some of the most important existing social science studies that have addressed cancer in low- and middle-income countries, including the main methods, approaches, and findings of this research. Second, we give an overview of recent interdisciplinary collaborations between social scientists and oncologists and demonstrate how qualitative research can help us to understand the distinct challenges of cancer care in low- and middle-income settings. Finally, we identify key areas for future collaboration and suggest possible paths forward for cancer research and policy that involve social science.

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