http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/2723 2026-04-05T21:30:34Z http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/2732 Abstract PO-213: Relationship between travel distance and radiotherapy waiting time in Zaria, Northwestern Nigeria Tumba, Nuhu; Adewuyi, Sunday Adeyemi; Eguzo, Kelechi; Nimark, Maurice Nandul Background Travel distance to healthcare facility has been recognized as a factor associated with treatment outcomes, utilization and a measure of the accessibility of health care services. In Nigeria, radiotherapy facilities are limited and machine breakdown is frequent, patients travel miles to access radiotherapy services. Objectives The aim of this study is to examine the distance travelled for radiotherapy and the relationship between distance to radiotherapy facility and radiotherapy waiting time in Zaria, Nigeria Materials and Methods The radiotherapy & oncology centre, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria is located in Kaduna state, the northwestern part of Nigeria. It is the first radiotherapy centre in northern Nigeria and patients are referred from all over the country for treatment. Records of patients treated for cervix, breast and nasopharyngeal cancer from 2010 to 2014 were reviewed, the nearest distance by road from capital cities of patient’s state of residence to Zaria was measured using the web-based Geographic Information System Google map The distance was categorized into those who are near (≤ 300km) and those who are far (>300km) We defined radiotherapy waiting time as the interval from the first consultation to radiotherapy measured in days and was categorized into those who commenced radiotherapy within 31 days and those who delayed. We used the Mann-Whitney test to compare between groups. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 25 (IBM Corp., Armonk, N.Y., USA) Results A total of 233 cases were reviewed, cervix (55%), breast (31%) and nasopharynx (14 %). The mean age is 46.7(SD±12.0), females account for 92% of cases. The mean distance to Zaria is 407 (SD±250.1)km, the median is 350(IQR 165- 584.5), minimum 98.5km, maximum 941km. Only 18% of cases lived within 100km of the Zaria radiotherapy centre, 25.4% lived within 101-300 km of the centre, 16.3% within 301-500km and 40% of cases >500km from the centre. The mean radiotherapy waiting time is162 (SD±192.7) days, median 145(IQR 18-217.5) days. Only 31% of cases started radiotherapy within 31 days after consultation and 69% commenced more than 31 days Radiotherapy waiting time is negatively correlated with travel distance. Although the correlation was weak (r = -0.183) it is statistically significant (p=0.005) Patients who travelled ≤ 300 km waited longer than those who travelled> 300km. (p=0.007), and those who commenced treatment within 31 days travelled longer than those who commenced after 31 days (p= 0.032) Conclusion This study shows that patients travel far to access radiotherapy services, however, there is an inverse relationship between travel distance and radiotherapy waiting time. longer travel is associated with a shorter wait for radiotherapy. More and equitable distribution of radiotherapy facilities are needed and further studies to understand the factors responsible for this relationship. 2020-12-01T00:00:00Z http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/2731 Best Practices for Improving Blended Learning in Nigeria: Critical Reflections on the Breast Cancer Clinical Pathway Development Course Egharevba, Peace I; Eguzo, Kelechi; Anya, Enyichukwu M; Tumba, Nuhu; Nnah, Kingsley; Oluoha, Chukwuemeka; Mbaraonye, Precious Although cancer clinical pathways (CPs) are standardized care plans for the treatment of specific cancers, they are not commonly used in Nigerian hospitals. Many Nigerian clinicians do not have the requisite skill for developing and implementing the use of CPs. Critical reflections provide an important perspective in the philosophy, design, implementation, and outcome of interventions. This paper critically reflects on the design and implementation of a multidisciplinary, blended learning (i.e. online and in-person) course which sought to improve the competence of local doctors, nurses, and allied students in developing clinical pathways. Reflective feedback was obtained from a mix of project designers (n=4) and participants (n=3). The group critically analyzed the project planning and implementation in comparison with best practices. The analysis considered the design of the online course, the distribution of learners, the conduct of the in-person workshops, and the overall evaluation of the educational intervention. Positive aspects of the online learning included the unique design of the green-themed PowerPoint slides and the vibrant discussions through a WhatsApp group. Poor internet services in many parts of Nigeria affected synchronous online discussions that were conducted on Google Meet. The in-person workshops at the three locations enjoyed great community support, especially because the course provided free cancer screening. Future courses should emphasize asynchronous models while ensuring that online tools that allow for low bandwidth are used for synchronous meetings. Community involvement must be emphasized during the planning of blended learning courses in which participants would need healthy volunteers to practice skills. The use of multidisciplinary teams for the planning and implementation of courses should be the standard of practice 2023-02-28T00:00:00Z http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/2730 Demographic pattern of cervical cancer patients seen in a radiotherapy treatment facility in Northern Nigeria Zubairu, Ismail Hadi; Theyra-Enias, Hadiza; Tumba, Nuhu Purpose Cervical cancer is the commonest malignancy in females in Northern Nigeria (Oguntayo et al. in Ecancer medicalscience 5:219, 2011. doi:10.3332/ecancer.2011. 219). It is therefore important to identify the demographic patterns of the population most frequently affected in order to direct any preventive or interventional activities appropriately. Methods Patients were recruited serially as they presented to the Radiotherapy department of Ahmadu Bello Univer sity Teaching Hospital, Shika, Zaria, to reach the calcu lated sample size. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences 20.0 and are presented here in tables and graphs. Results A total of 73 patients participated in the study, and filled questionnaires were used in the collation of data. Majority of the patients seen were still within the repro ductive age group 40–49 years. The mean age at presen tation was 51 years, and a modal age of 40 years. The minimum age at presentation was 26 years and maximum age was 76 years. 37% of respondents were Hausa, 4.1% Yoruba, 6.8% Ibo and 52% for others comprising Tiv, Idoma, Urhobo, Igala and other minor tribes. 74% of the respondents were married, 4.1% divorced and 21.9% widowed. 28% had only primary education, 26% had no form of education at all, 16.4% had Qur’anic education and only 11% had attained tertiary education level. Most of them were unemployed housewives (54.8%). More than half, 53.4% earned less than 200 naira a day. Conclusion Most patients are within the age bracket 40–49 years; they are mostly Hausa, married, housewives with minimal education and within the low socioeconomic class. This result points to a need to adopt a strategy of public education, enlightenment and screening programs that will capture the language barrier that exists as a result of poor education and the generally prevailing culture of being housewives which directly influences the health seeking behavior of women in Northern Nigeria 2021-09-17T00:00:00Z http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/2729 Enhancing Nigerian Healthcare Providers Competence in Breast Cancer Clinical Pathway Development using Blended Learning Approach Eguzo, Kelechi N; Akpanudo, Usenime; Oluoha, Chukwuemeka; Ismaila, Nofisat; Jacob, Aniekan; Nnah, Kingsley; Tumba, Nuhu; Udoekong, Mfonobong; Adisa, Charles Purpose: Clinical pathways are a means of translating universal clinical guidelines into local protocols to inform clinical practice. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of using a blended learning approach for providing instruction and building competency on the development of breast cancer clinical pathways, using the guidelines from the National Cancer Control Network (NCCN). Methods: A one-group pretest-post test design was used for this study. Participants included healthcare providers and students in Nigeria, who were recruited through social media and professional organizations. The intervention was an online course delivered through Google Classroom, followed by two-day workshops at three locations. Data collection involved pre and post-tests scores from the online course, self-reported evaluation, as well as objective grading of in-person group projects. Results: Over 400 individuals joined the online course while 90 participated in the in-person workshops. Most participants (259/408, 63%) had no prior experience with online education, with an average age of 27.46 (±9.25) years. Data analysis revealed significant increases in mean knowledge scores across all groups from pretest (M=12.76, SE = 0.60) to post test (M =17.25, SE =0.38) p<0.001. Self-reported evaluation showed higher scores regarding chemotherapy administration for blended learning participants. Objective competence scores in developing clinical pathways ranged from 63% to 87%, across three sites. Conclusion: Findings reveal that both an online course alongside in-person workshops can be effective strategies for improving the knowledge and competence respectively of healthcare professionals on clinical pathways development. Participants in the blended learning component demonstrated significantly greater improvement in self-reported confidence scores. We recommend further studies to compare the relative strengths and limitations of these strategies. 2021-07-23T00:00:00Z