Patient Navigator Education and Training Strategies to Support Cancer Survivors in Tanzania

摘要

ABSTRACT This application is submitted in response to the Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) identified as “NOT-CA-21- 058.” Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality among women in sub-Saharan Africa. As in many low-resource countries, cervical cancer patients in Tanzania face many barriers in receiving cancer care such as lack of access to screening programs, diagnostic delays, high cost of travel to the cancer centers, and stigma and myths associated with cancer diagnosis and treatment. C ervical cancer is, however, highly curable with early diagnosis and treatment adherence. As a result of recent capacity- building for both screening and treatment of cervical cancer, Tanzania is poised to see an increase in the number of cervical cancer patients who will be eligible to undergo definitive therapy. This growing population of potential long-term survivors presents a critical opportunity to dispel myths around cancer which still prevail and to leverage survivors for development of innovative health promotion interventions. Preliminary data from within East Africa suggests that advocacy and education through cancer survivors and their caregivers can play a critical role in improving cancer outcomes by dispelling cancer misconceptions and promoting health-seeking behaviors. We hypothesize that by empowering, imparting knowledge, and training cervical cancer survivors as agents of change, we will improve treatment adherence and treatment completion rates for cervical cancer patients in Tanzania. Our immediate aims for the funding period are two-fold. First, we will evaluate the needs and behaviors of cervical cancer patients in Tanzania along the cancer control continuum.We will conduct focus groups with survivors, caregivers, and healthcare providers to perform an assessment of physical, mental, emotional, social, and financial effects of a cervical cancer diagnosis, beginning at diagnosis and continuing through and beyond treatment. In addition, our assessment of the survivorship experience will also focus on issues related to follow-up care, late effects of treatment, and quality of life.Following the formative evaluation, we will develop and pilot a curriculum to train cervical cancer survivors to become patient navigators. This proposal aims to empower and train cervical cancer survivors to become patient navigators and agents of change. Our long-term goal is to improve treatment adherence and treatment completion rates for cervical cancer patients in Tanzania through implementation of patient navigation services.