Nanji Sulaiman, Alatise Olusegun, Magueye Gueye Serigne, Merchant Shaila, Terna Yawe King-David, Jalink Matthew, Ogundiran Temidayo O, Olawale Badejo, Kolomitro Klodiana, Ka Sidy, Berry Scott, Clegg-Lamptey Joe Nat, Hammad Nazik, Dedey Florence, Cofie Nicholas, Osime Clement, Kyei Ishmael, Haji Faizal, Ezeome Emanuel
Department of Surgery, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Department of Surgery, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife-Ife, Nigeria.
Ann Surg Oncol. 2025 Mar;32(3):1579-1589. doi: 10.1245/s10434-024-16483-3. Epub 2024 Nov 25.
There is a critical lack of surgical capacity for the growing burden of cancer care in West Africa. To address this gap, the development of a surgical oncology fellowship training program was proposed. However, given the limited data needed to inform the creation of this program, a comprehensive needs assessment and environmental scan of the current surgical oncology landscape in the West African region was conducted.
A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was employed. Stakeholders from eight flagship West African cancer centers were surveyed on the existing clinical capacity and scope of current practice. Data were supplemented by site visit observations and informal interviews with stakeholders. The American Society of Clinical Oncology resource-stratified guideline was used to comparably evaluate the clinical capacity for cancer care across institutions. The educational capacity was described and analyzed using qualitative description. Results were presented using a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis.
Thirty-seven individuals representing the eight institutions completed the needs assessment survey. Capacity within various clinical domains essential to the delivery of comprehensive cancer care was reported and compared between institutions. A comprehensive list of surgical procedures that should form the basis of surgical oncology training was produced by consensus. Educational capacity including teaching, assessment, evaluation and expansion was described. Aggregate results from all data sources were presented as a SWOT analysis.
This needs assessment represents a crucial first step towards establishing a robust surgical oncology fellowship program tailored to the needs and available resources in West Africa.
西非地区癌症护理负担日益加重，但外科治疗能力严重不足。为填补这一空白，有人提议制定外科肿瘤学专科培训计划。然而，鉴于创建该计划所需的数据有限，我们对西非地区当前的外科肿瘤学现状进行了全面的需求评估和环境扫描。
采用了收敛平行混合方法设计。对来自西非八个旗舰癌症中心的利益相关者进行了调查，了解现有临床能力和当前实践范围。通过实地考察观察以及与利益相关者的非正式访谈对数据进行补充。美国临床肿瘤学会资源分层指南用于对各机构的癌症护理临床能力进行比较评估。采用定性描述法对教育能力进行描述和分析。结果通过优势、劣势、机会和威胁（SWOT）分析呈现。
代表八个机构的37人完成了需求评估调查。报告了提供全面癌症护理所需的各个临床领域的能力，并在各机构之间进行了比较。通过共识制定了一份应作为外科肿瘤学培训基础的外科手术综合清单。描述了包括教学、评估、评价和扩展在内的教育能力。所有数据源的汇总结果以SWOT分析的形式呈现。
这项需求评估是朝着建立一个根据西非需求和可用资源量身定制的强大的外科肿瘤学专科培训计划迈出的关键第一步。
