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Developing Research Education Groups in African Cancer Centers: The Experience in Tanzania

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Abstract

Research productivity and outcomes of junior researchers are usually correlated with the degree and quality of mentorship they receive. A bottom-up approach was followed to develop a research group at the Ocean Road Cancer Institute (ORCI), the major cancer center in Tanzania, to build upon the existing clinical and research resources and institutional global collaborations. The ORCI is a clinical center focused on radio- and chemo-therapy treatment of cancer patients from all over Tanzania. In addition, ORCI has a long-standing early detection program for educating women and screening them for cervical cancer. The ORCI physicians have been exposed to cancer research for the past 20 years through non-degree and degree training in the USA and Europe. In addition, US and European groups have been conducting collaborative research and training of oncologists and graduate students at ORCI. The exposure to research through the above-listed venues motivated the clinicians at ORCI to develop their own Research Club (RC) to learn about research methods, seek independent funding, and outline a research agenda for cancer research in Tanzania. However, it seems that mentorship is needed to help the RC members apply the lessons learned from didactic teaching. Mentorship is also needed to enable the RC members to utilize the enormous clinical and epidemiologic data generated by the institutional programs for prevention, treatment, and follow up of patients. This manuscript describes the inception of the program and its achievements, limitations, and suggested opportunities for improvement as a possible model for other LMICs.

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Acknowledgements

The RC recognizes the role of collaborations such as the Sickle Cell Programme (SCP) that provided opportunity for our members to attend their own weekly research meetings and a continuing source of grant opportunities. SCP enhanced our sessions with two senior guest speakers and Dr. Jill Kent who read and reviewed this manuscript. The City University of New York (CUNY) dedicated a regular visiting lecturer during their summer research work, offered library full text links to articles for the group, and generally advanced our advocacy reach. Ms. Salhe Huwely is also appreciated for her contribution in managing the questionnaires and data entry.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ocean Road Cancer Institute, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

    Khadija Msami, Mohammed Mbwana, Julius Mwaiselage, Nazima Dharsee & Crispin Kahesa

  2. Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

    Sarah Nyagabona & Julie Makani

  3. City University of New York Medical School, New York, NY, USA

    Amr S. Soliman

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  1. Khadija Msami
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  2. Mohammed Mbwana
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  3. Julius Mwaiselage
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  4. Sarah Nyagabona
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  6. Nazima Dharsee
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  7. Crispin Kahesa
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Correspondence to Khadija Msami.

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Msami, K., Mbwana, M., Mwaiselage, J. et al. Developing Research Education Groups in African Cancer Centers: The Experience in Tanzania. J Canc Educ 36 (Suppl 1), 101–108 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-021-02040-z

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