Efforts to strengthen anatomic pathology diagnostic services for cancer in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review protocol

Introduction Sub-Saharan Africa bears a disproportionate burden of cancer-related morbidity and mortality compared with high-resource settings. Although pathology services are essential to providing optimal oncological care, diagnostic capacity in sub-Saharan Africa is insufficient for the cancer bu...

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Main Authors: Katherine Van Loon, Elia John Mmbaga, Marcia Edelweiss, Dianna L. Ng, Asteria Herman Kimambo, Edda Vuhahula, Beatrice Paul Mushi, Omolade Adegoke, Johanna Goldberg, Pendo M. Ibrahim, Zainab Illonga, Julia Jackman, Luisa Jamisse
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2025-02-01
Series:BMJ Open
Online Access:https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/2/e089425.full
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author Katherine Van Loon
Elia John Mmbaga
Marcia Edelweiss
Dianna L. Ng
Asteria Herman Kimambo
Edda Vuhahula
Beatrice Paul Mushi
Omolade Adegoke
Johanna Goldberg
Pendo M. Ibrahim
Zainab Illonga
Julia Jackman
Luisa Jamisse
author_facet Katherine Van Loon
Elia John Mmbaga
Marcia Edelweiss
Dianna L. Ng
Asteria Herman Kimambo
Edda Vuhahula
Beatrice Paul Mushi
Omolade Adegoke
Johanna Goldberg
Pendo M. Ibrahim
Zainab Illonga
Julia Jackman
Luisa Jamisse
author_sort Katherine Van Loon
collection DOAJ
description Introduction Sub-Saharan Africa bears a disproportionate burden of cancer-related morbidity and mortality compared with high-resource settings. Although pathology services are essential to providing optimal oncological care, diagnostic capacity in sub-Saharan Africa is insufficient for the cancer burden. This scoping review will be conducted to summarise the current state of practices and evidence for interventions and implementation strategies to improve anatomic pathology services for cancer in the region. The objective of this scoping review is to describe efforts to strengthen capacity for anatomic pathology services in sub-Saharan Africa. The information gathered will be used to inform the design of future pathology capacity-building interventions. The primary aim of the scoping review is to comprehensively map the existing evidence on initiatives aimed at enhancing the capacity for pathology services.Methods and analysis This study will follow Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews. MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central and African Index Medicus will be searched for articles published in English and Portuguese with no limitations placed on date or publication type. A limited search for grey literature will be conducted using the WHO Institutional Repository for Information Sharing. Two independent reviewers will screen all articles, extract data and complete the descriptive analysis. All discrepancies will be resolved using a third reviewer. The results will be reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). This review will consider scientific literature from published primary studies as well as scoping and systematic reviews related to capacity-building efforts to strengthen anatomic pathology services in any sub-Saharan African country. All study designs will be considered, including quantitative, qualitative and/or mixed-methods studies.Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval is not required for this study. Dissemination of findings from this work will include the publication of the results in a peer-reviewed journal and presentations at conferences.Protocol registration number Open Science Framework, https://osf.io/6cmhg.
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spelling doaj-art-b5662a02eae247cf863a65356ecae2952025-02-11T08:05:09ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552025-02-0115210.1136/bmjopen-2024-089425Efforts to strengthen anatomic pathology diagnostic services for cancer in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review protocolKatherine Van Loon0Elia John Mmbaga1Marcia Edelweiss2Dianna L. Ng3Asteria Herman Kimambo4Edda Vuhahula5Beatrice Paul Mushi6Omolade Adegoke7Johanna Goldberg8Pendo M. Ibrahim9Zainab Illonga10Julia Jackman11Luisa Jamisse12Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USADepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaDepartment of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USADepartment of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USADepartment of Pathology, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaDepartment of Pathology, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaMuhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaDepartment of Pathology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, NigeriaLibrary, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USAMuhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaMuhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaDepartment of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USADepartment of Pathology, Maputo Central Hospital, Maputo, MozambiqueIntroduction Sub-Saharan Africa bears a disproportionate burden of cancer-related morbidity and mortality compared with high-resource settings. Although pathology services are essential to providing optimal oncological care, diagnostic capacity in sub-Saharan Africa is insufficient for the cancer burden. This scoping review will be conducted to summarise the current state of practices and evidence for interventions and implementation strategies to improve anatomic pathology services for cancer in the region. The objective of this scoping review is to describe efforts to strengthen capacity for anatomic pathology services in sub-Saharan Africa. The information gathered will be used to inform the design of future pathology capacity-building interventions. The primary aim of the scoping review is to comprehensively map the existing evidence on initiatives aimed at enhancing the capacity for pathology services.Methods and analysis This study will follow Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews. MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central and African Index Medicus will be searched for articles published in English and Portuguese with no limitations placed on date or publication type. A limited search for grey literature will be conducted using the WHO Institutional Repository for Information Sharing. Two independent reviewers will screen all articles, extract data and complete the descriptive analysis. All discrepancies will be resolved using a third reviewer. The results will be reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). This review will consider scientific literature from published primary studies as well as scoping and systematic reviews related to capacity-building efforts to strengthen anatomic pathology services in any sub-Saharan African country. All study designs will be considered, including quantitative, qualitative and/or mixed-methods studies.Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval is not required for this study. Dissemination of findings from this work will include the publication of the results in a peer-reviewed journal and presentations at conferences.Protocol registration number Open Science Framework, https://osf.io/6cmhg.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/2/e089425.full
spellingShingle Katherine Van Loon
Elia John Mmbaga
Marcia Edelweiss
Dianna L. Ng
Asteria Herman Kimambo
Edda Vuhahula
Beatrice Paul Mushi
Omolade Adegoke
Johanna Goldberg
Pendo M. Ibrahim
Zainab Illonga
Julia Jackman
Luisa Jamisse
Efforts to strengthen anatomic pathology diagnostic services for cancer in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review protocol
BMJ Open
title Efforts to strengthen anatomic pathology diagnostic services for cancer in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review protocol
title_full Efforts to strengthen anatomic pathology diagnostic services for cancer in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review protocol
title_fullStr Efforts to strengthen anatomic pathology diagnostic services for cancer in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review protocol
title_full_unstemmed Efforts to strengthen anatomic pathology diagnostic services for cancer in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review protocol
title_short Efforts to strengthen anatomic pathology diagnostic services for cancer in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review protocol
title_sort efforts to strengthen anatomic pathology diagnostic services for cancer in sub saharan africa a scoping review protocol
url https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/2/e089425.full
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