Implementation of Guideline-Based Clinical Practice at Ocean Road Cancer Center in Tanzania

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Investigator: Rebecca J. Deboer, MD

Location(s): Tanzania

Description

Adherence to standard treatment guidelines is key to addressing global disparities in cancer mortality: in low-income countries, the overall case fatality from cancer is estimated to be 75%, compared with 46% in high-income countries. In 2017, leaders from Ocean Road Cancer Institute (ORCI) participated in the joint effort with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and African Cancer Coalition to develop cancer treatment guidelines six cancers and two supportive care categories for Sub-Saharan Africa. Contemporaneously, ORCI also  drafted Tanzania’s first edition of its National Treatment guidelines. In April 2018, leadership of the Committee for Tanzania’s National Cancer Treatment Guidelines visited UCSF to refine these guidelines with expert reviews by over 30 UCSF sub-specialist. This project supports the initial implementation phase of these guidelines at ORCI, with the overall objective of evaluating the feasibility and effectiveness of a theory-informed implementation strategy to facilitate adoption of guideline-based clinical practice at ORCI.