Building pathology capacity in sub-Saharan Africa to improve breast cancer diagnosis and treatment: training laboratory technicians in high-quality manual immunohistochemistry.

ABSTRACT:

Background

To address the need for a skilled workforce in breast cancer (BC) pathology in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), we implemented an education program to train laboratory technicians in manual immunohistochemistry (IHC).

Methods

A quality improvement education project was developed. Interactive webinars were held every six months with didactics and presentations from African experts with experience in IHC. We conducted knowledge assessments and surveys on current practice, equipment, and human resources. A digital mentorship platform (DMP) was created for discussions, sharing SOPs, and networking. For one year (2022-2023), we followed developments in pathology capacity, practice changes, and educational needs. A paired t-test was used to calculate the significance of change

SUBMITTER: Setiawan L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10763384 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature