title: Building cancer nursing skills in a resource-constrained government hospital.
abstract: Cancer is a rising cause of morbidity and mortality in resource-constrained settings. Few places in the developing world have cancer care experts and infrastructure for caring for cancer patients; therefore, it is imperative to develop this infrastructure and expertise. A critical component of cancer care, rarely addressed in the published literature, is cancer nursing. This report describes an effort to develop cancer nursing subspecialty knowledge and skills in support of a growing resource-constrained comprehensive cancer care program in Western Kenya. This report highlights the context of cancer care delivery in a resource-constrained setting, and describes one targeted intervention to further develop the skill set and knowledge of cancer care providers, as part of collaboration between developed world academic institutions and a medical school and governmental hospital in Western Kenya. Based on observations of current practice, practice setting, and resource limitations, a pragmatic curriculum for cancer care nursing was developed and implemented.
authors.affiliation: Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, USA. rstrothe@iupui.edu
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Strother
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fitch
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kamau
authors.forename: Kathy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Beattie
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boudreau
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Busakhalla
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Loehrer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003906:Developing Countries; D004506:Education, Nursing; D005260:Female; D006295:Health Resources / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D006779:Hospitals, Public; D006801:Humans; D007630:Kenya; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000451:nursing*; D009859:Oncology Nursing / Q000193:education* / Q000592:standards; D013038:Specialization; D013192:Staff Development / Q000379:methods