Building Capacity for Breast Cancer Diagnosis: Evaluation of a Radiology-Pathology Project Extension for Community Health Outcomes (ECHO) in Nigeria.

Abstract

The Breast Cancer Radiology-Pathology Project Extension for Community Health Outcomes (RAD-PATH ECHO), by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the African Research Group for Oncology, is an interactive, virtual program connecting radiologists and pathologists from North America and Nigeria and aims to address challenges in breast cancer diagnosis in low-resource settings. To evaluate the RAD-PATH ECHO program and its impact on participants. The evaluation included a survey of participants to assess learning preferences, training needs, perceived barriers in breast cancer diagnosis, and the perceived impact of RAD-PATH ECHO on building local capacity. In addition, following each RAD-PATH ECHO session, participants received a free-text survey with the prompt "What were the 3 main learning points of today's session?" Twenty-one participants responded to the online survey. Insufficient equipment (62%; 13 of 21) and poor communication between medical specialties (52%; 11 of 21) were identified as primary challenges in breast cancer diagnosis. Respondents preferred interactive case-based learning (81%; 17 of 21) and felt RAD-PATH ECHO improved their ability to manage patients (57%; 12 of 21). Recommendations for improvement included adding more institutions and increasing the number of sessions per year. Post-session surveys revealed the following 3 key themes: (1) Importance of communication to improve radiology-pathology diagnostic correlation; (2) transfer of diagnostic knowledge; and (3) guidance on biopsy procedure-related issues. RAD-PATH ECHO is beneficial for enhancing knowledge and promoting multidisciplinary discussion in Nigeria and can serve as a supplementary resource for practicing radiologists and pathologists. Future initiatives should focus on developing strategies to increase participation and disseminate the program.