GCRF RESEARCH FOR HEALTH IN CONFLICT (R4HC-MENA): developing capability, partnerships and research in the Middle and Near East (MENA)
Lead Research Organisation:
King's College London
Department Name: Cancer Studies
Abstract
Two billion people currently live in areas of conflict and fragility, reflecting a rapid increase in wars, ethnic strife and other man-made disasters since 2010. The world is also experiencing the greatest forced migration crisis since the Second World War with 65.3 million forcibly displaced persons, 40.8 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), 21.3 million refugees and a further 10 million stateless people. Across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region protracted conflicts in countries such as Syria and Libya, as well as Afghanistan, Iraq and Yemen, have led to dramatic increases of refugee populations in Turkey, Lebanon, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Jordan. War affected populations from these countries have undergone the epidemiological transition and therefore present new health challenges. In particular, the diagnosis, management and treatment of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) present new challenges for domestic health systems, as well as for humanitarian and development aid providers. These challenges also threaten domestic health commitments to Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This new humanitarian-development-health nexus demands a unique research agenda radically different from traditional approaches that address health challenges in low-income countries with weak governments, institutions and a mainly communicable disease burden.
Without proper research capacity to generate crucial evidence to inform health policy and care, it will be impossible for countries in the MENA region to plan for rational and affordable health systems, sound economic policy and more effective aid effectiveness. The vision for our R4HC (Research for Health in Conflict)-MENA partnership is to build sustainable research capacity in this region to address major health challenges arising from conflict, specifically cancer and mental health as key NCDs.
R4HC-MENA will build research capacity in four distinct areas: (1) conflict and health; (2) the political economy of health in conflict; (3) cancer; and (4) mental health research in regions of conflict. This research capacity will focus on training staff in a variety of theoretical and practical methods for studying these areas, as well as conducting and publishing research projects to build further capability and disseminate findings. R4HC-MENA will enable lead countries in this region to grow and sustain research capacity that can critically inform aspects of health development that relate to armed conflict in the region. This will inform not only regional and international policy-makers, but also the development of affordable and equitable clinical models of care and pathways in complex NCDs such as cancer and mental health. R4HC-MENA will also link together regional ministries and academic centres, and key international partners, to widen the research to policy translation, and critically inform the health development agenda in other regions affected by conflict.
Without proper research capacity to generate crucial evidence to inform health policy and care, it will be impossible for countries in the MENA region to plan for rational and affordable health systems, sound economic policy and more effective aid effectiveness. The vision for our R4HC (Research for Health in Conflict)-MENA partnership is to build sustainable research capacity in this region to address major health challenges arising from conflict, specifically cancer and mental health as key NCDs.
R4HC-MENA will build research capacity in four distinct areas: (1) conflict and health; (2) the political economy of health in conflict; (3) cancer; and (4) mental health research in regions of conflict. This research capacity will focus on training staff in a variety of theoretical and practical methods for studying these areas, as well as conducting and publishing research projects to build further capability and disseminate findings. R4HC-MENA will enable lead countries in this region to grow and sustain research capacity that can critically inform aspects of health development that relate to armed conflict in the region. This will inform not only regional and international policy-makers, but also the development of affordable and equitable clinical models of care and pathways in complex NCDs such as cancer and mental health. R4HC-MENA will also link together regional ministries and academic centres, and key international partners, to widen the research to policy translation, and critically inform the health development agenda in other regions affected by conflict.
Planned Impact
The R4HC-MENA partnership has been built through a series of specific concept development meetings via the offices of the Chatham House-Syrian Public Health Network, the WHO EMRO Expert group and Ministerial leads at the 2016 World Health Assembly (e.g. see www.uicc.org/69th-world-health-assembly-live-update). This has resulted in early co-development of the overall program of activities and has ensured that both academic and policy-makers in direct partner ODA countries are fully committed to the life of this program and its sustainability. As articulated by partners in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, health development in the context of a region in conflict is economically critical not only to domestic populations but also to the ability of countries to host refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and economic migrants. This program will also directly address two major NCDs - cancer and mental health - that are the cause of significant poor quality of life, suffering and productivity losses, due to morbidity and premature mortality. Impact will be delivered through the three strands of R4HC-MENA:
Building research capacity in conflict affected areas with a focus on health, the political economy of health and NCDs in the MENA region. The UK partner institutions will generate major new hubs and networks of academic excellence that will provide a focus for research education for the MENA region with an understanding that economic development for health is crucially dependent on evidence to inform policy. R4HC-MENA will provide substantial research infrastructure to support this need by training in the UK and in MENA partner countries substantial numbers of senior (4-6 p/yr),and middle-junior faculty (up to 40-50 /year) across the four work streams. New technology enhanced learning modules and tools will also be developed for both UK and MENA partners to support distance learning programs.
Partnerships: R4HC-MENA will link ODA partner countries with major advocacy groups, for example the National Cancer Institute Centre for Global Health-Cancer and the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative-Conflict and Health, which are able to provide bridging into major sources of research funding to help further build capacity in ODA countries. During the course of the program, R4HC-MENA will widely engage with major regional funders such as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Qatar National Research Fund and the Gates Foundation with whom we have had preliminary discussions at the 2016 World Innovation Health Summit in Doha about building cases for long-term research support for conflict and health. We will also use the partnership and key outputs to engage with a wider group of stakeholders such as humanitarian and development agencies, the private sector and other countries affected by conflict and humanitarian crises in order to embed this critical area of health research into a wider global audience.
Research projects proposed by R4HC-MENA are conceptualised to have maximum impact in each of the four work streams. For conflict and health research the use of novel tools for health intelligence in conflict is crucial for addressing major lacunae in current approaches to health surveillance in complex conflict environments. In the political economy of conflict data generated from understanding how current policies frame affordable NCD care, delivery will be crucial for regional multi-lateral organisations and Ministries of health. For research into cancer in conflict the data generated on national cancer surgical capacity, models and pathways of care will be essential for national cancer surgical plans. Palliative care outcome projects will build regional models of care. Lastly, mental health in conflict data will be generated to ensure locally meaningful care and models for intervention are regionally applicable.
Building research capacity in conflict affected areas with a focus on health, the political economy of health and NCDs in the MENA region. The UK partner institutions will generate major new hubs and networks of academic excellence that will provide a focus for research education for the MENA region with an understanding that economic development for health is crucially dependent on evidence to inform policy. R4HC-MENA will provide substantial research infrastructure to support this need by training in the UK and in MENA partner countries substantial numbers of senior (4-6 p/yr),and middle-junior faculty (up to 40-50 /year) across the four work streams. New technology enhanced learning modules and tools will also be developed for both UK and MENA partners to support distance learning programs.
Partnerships: R4HC-MENA will link ODA partner countries with major advocacy groups, for example the National Cancer Institute Centre for Global Health-Cancer and the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative-Conflict and Health, which are able to provide bridging into major sources of research funding to help further build capacity in ODA countries. During the course of the program, R4HC-MENA will widely engage with major regional funders such as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Qatar National Research Fund and the Gates Foundation with whom we have had preliminary discussions at the 2016 World Innovation Health Summit in Doha about building cases for long-term research support for conflict and health. We will also use the partnership and key outputs to engage with a wider group of stakeholders such as humanitarian and development agencies, the private sector and other countries affected by conflict and humanitarian crises in order to embed this critical area of health research into a wider global audience.
Research projects proposed by R4HC-MENA are conceptualised to have maximum impact in each of the four work streams. For conflict and health research the use of novel tools for health intelligence in conflict is crucial for addressing major lacunae in current approaches to health surveillance in complex conflict environments. In the political economy of conflict data generated from understanding how current policies frame affordable NCD care, delivery will be crucial for regional multi-lateral organisations and Ministries of health. For research into cancer in conflict the data generated on national cancer surgical capacity, models and pathways of care will be essential for national cancer surgical plans. Palliative care outcome projects will build regional models of care. Lastly, mental health in conflict data will be generated to ensure locally meaningful care and models for intervention are regionally applicable.
Organisations
- King's College London (Lead Research Organisation, Project Partner)
- Medical Research Council (Co-funder)
- Arts and Humanities Research Council (Co-funder)
- National Kyushu Cancer Center (Collaboration)
- Cancer Society of Finland (Collaboration)
- Hacettepe University (Collaboration)
- German Cancer Research Center (Collaboration)
- King Hussein Cancer Center (Collaboration)
- World Health Organization (WHO) (Collaboration)
- International Medical Corps (Collaboration)
- Birzeit University (Collaboration)
- International Committee of the Red Cross (Collaboration)
- AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT (Collaboration)
- Government of The Gambia (Collaboration)
- National Institute for Health Research (Collaboration)
- Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE (Collaboration)
- European Cancer Organisation (ECCO) (Collaboration)
- King Hussein Medical Center (Collaboration)
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) (Collaboration)
- KING'S COLLEGE LONDON (Collaboration)
- Harvard University (Project Partner)
- Council for At-Risk Academics (Project Partner)
- Union for International Cancer Control (Project Partner)
- National Institutes of Health (Project Partner)
Publications
Bricknell MCM
(2020)
Fit to fight - from military hygiene to wellbeing in the British Army.
in Military Medical Research
Bricknell MCM
(2021)
Evolution of First Aid Training in the British Army.
in Military medicine
Bricknell MC
(2020)
Understanding military combat mental health.
in Occupational medicine (Oxford, England)
Franklin M
(2019)
Optimising nudges and boosts for financial decisions under uncertainty
in Palgrave Communications
Guo P
(2021)
Compounded trauma: A qualitative study of the challenges for refugees living with advanced cancer.
in Palliative medicine
Pallari E
(2022)
Cardiovascular and cancer risk factors analysis for 2001-2020 from the global research output and European newspapers
in Scientometrics
Lewison G
(2020)
The spin-off to civilian medical practice in the UK and USA from medical research developed during conflict
in Scientometrics
Sirohi B
(2018)
Developing institutions for cancer care in low-income and middle-income countries: from cancer units to comprehensive cancer centres.
in The Lancet. Oncology
Alawa J
(2019)
Cancer prevention and treatment in humanitarian settings: an urgent and unmet need.
in The Lancet. Oncology
Kienzler H
(2019)
Mental health in all policies in contexts of war and conflict.
in The Lancet. Public health
Bricknell M
(2020)
Understanding the Whole of Military Health Systems The Defence Healthcare Cycle
in The RUSI Journal
Bernard R
(2018)
Intelligence and global health: assessing the role of open source and social media intelligence analysis in infectious disease outbreaks.
in Zeitschrift fur Gesundheitswissenschaften = Journal of public health
Giacaman R
(2018)
Training Needs Assessment for Mental Health Research in War and Conflict
| Description | 1. We have seen a major growth in academic faculty in conflict and health leveraged by the R4HC program. For example, Hacettepe now have 18 faculty focused on conflict & health and Birzeit have expanded to include Weeam Hammoudeh (Assistant Professor), Abdullatif Husseini (Professor) and three Research Assistants. 2. Significant growth in research outputs in most areas over last year (+17% CAGR) with more multi-lateral authorship papers. 3. Two major hubs for conflict and health at King's College London (KCL) and the American University of Beirut (AUB) (conflict medicine orientated) in development. Other hubs for cancer, palliative care and conflict established at the King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC), Hacettepe and Birzeit. Major intellectual focus in R4HC around the political economy of health in conflict. 4. Co-operation around methodological rigour. R4HC is applying knowledge to make a unique theoretical contribution. Critique of concepts and methods used in published literature in relation to their relevance, importance, and indeed, validity in the regional and local contexts. R4HC to promote development of new tools related to concepts related to health in war which go beyond a biomedical approach to understanding what happens to people in wars and conflicts. 5. R4HC will use 2020 to reflect on partnership development and how it is meeting both ODA and national expectations for capacity building. 6. Research that changes people, practice and policy. Need to apply a stronger lens to scrutinise outputs and engage beyond R4HC into iNGO et al. R4HC teams uniquely placed to do comparative work beyond individual country and theme approaches. 7. Improved cross-cutting capacity interactions between workstreams, particularly political economy and palliative care. Mental health and cancer also increasing cross-workstream interactions as well as new joint workshops, including: workshop at Hacettepe convening the intensive short course "Qualitative Research Methods for Mental Health in War and Conflict" and program grant applications; Tobacco and Women's Health GCRF Cluster applications for September 2019: KHCC-GMH Lab collaboration to enhance existing mental health services for distressed breast cancer patients at KHCC using Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), an evidence-based therapy that has been used successfully in the region. 8. R4HC partnership have six research proposals either submitted or committed to development. For example, three cluster proposals for the next round of GCRF funding (Tobacco, Women's Health and possibly, Healthcare Workers) and an ERC bid (AMR and War). Translation of capacity building into research grants remains a weakness, however, this year has seen a more concerted effort to develop and submit proposals. 9. Global Mental Health (GMH) Lab - Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) Lebanon, in the Mental Health workstream have successfully completed an adoption study of IPT among Lebanese mental health practitioners in diverse settings, as well as implemented the IMPACT model (collaborative care platform) in Makhzoumi PHC. 10. Data curation, sharing and management have now become a critical issue which the executive board will need to address more carefully. 11. Gender equality within the partnership is a key aim. A group led by Drs Kienzler, Hammoudeh, Patel, Mukherji et al are creating a Women Leaders in Conflict and Health program, which was launched in 2019. 12. Clear need to drive better and more equitable mentorship for mid-career faculty and mindset change from senior faculty to ensure equal opportunities across R4HC teaching faculty. 13. The GCRF Cluster call has provided a great opportunity to expand and develop the partnership, the start of which we have seen this year with joint GCRF, R4HC and PRECISE program bids to technology translation call. Other developments, particularly in security sector capacity building (military ethics, stabilisation etc) and political economy, will provide a rich source of future bids. 14. We are delighted that Professor Rita Giacaman accepted an honorary Doctorate of Science from KCL, which she formally received in October 2019. 15. Need to create a database of who is engaging with whom and how? Ministries, iNGO, UN e.g. Birzeit with UN/Ministry (e.g. various NGOs and other universities, other research establishments).Framework needed for capturing outputs that are non-publications, including a reportable taxonomy for R4HC. Look at creating short films with eCancer. 16. Looking to the future, the issue with these hubs will be sustainability. What are UKRI priorities? How will this work? Conflict shapes disease and health systems; how will R4HC influence these knowledge transmissions? |
| Exploitation Route | Broadly this capacity programe by the end of 2019 has built three major centres & networks 1. Cancer and Palliative Care in Cancer Centre at King Hussein Cancer Centre 2. Conflict Medicine Centre at AUB Lebanon 3. Centre for Conflict & Health at KCL 4. Women Leaders in Conflict & Health Our scholastic outputs have had major impacts across national and domestic policy agenda's, particularly in cancer, palliative care and mental health. |
| Sectors | Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice,Security and Diplomacy |
| URL | https://r4hc-mena.org/ |
| Description | R4HC outputs have been utilised across a wide range of partners from ICRC to WHO |
| First Year Of Impact | 2018 |
| Sector | Healthcare |
| Impact Types | Societal,Policy & public services |
| Description | "Research Methods for Mental Health in War and Conflict": Specialized cohort training in "Linear and logistic regression" |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| URL | https://r4hc-mena.org/2019/02/12/research-methods-for-mental-health-in-war-and-conflict-specialized-... |
| Description | Advisory Board: Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut - Professor Rita Giacaman |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Advisory Committee of the NIH Fogarty International Centre for Global Health Studies: Advancing Health Research in Humanitarian Crises - Professor Rita Giacaman |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Advisory Committee: Global Society on Health and Armed Conflict - Professor Rita Giacaman |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Applying Behavioural Insights to Policy: From Evidence to Practice |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health |
| URL | https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/315051 |
| Description | C-POS |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Hacettepe University, Turkey is involved in developing Children's Palliative care Outcome Scale (C-POS) in association with King's College London, UK and King Hussein Cancer Centre, Jordan. This scale will improve awareness of unmet need of terminally ill children with cancer and allows health care providers to address physical, emotional and social needs of these children. Currently R4HC research team at Hacettepe University is working for developing C-POS, palliative care literature review and key informant interviews. These research activities will potentially influence policies and practice and health economy because studies from other countries reveal that that integration of palliative care program into cancer care may reduce symptom burden, improves quality of life and caregiver outcomes. Studies also show that implementation of palliative care for cancer patients substantially reduce healthcare expenditures. A research team at Hacettepe University is working on literature review and key informant interviews regarding status of palliative care for cancer patients in Turkey. The recommendation made by these studies will likely provide guidelines for National cancer care policies. |
| Description | Caring for Cancer Patients during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| URL | http://www.lsmo-lb.org/news/caring-for-cancer-patients-during-the-covid-19-pandemic |
| Description | Commissioner: Lancet Commission on Syria - Professor Rita Giacaman |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Description | Coordination Committee and Steering Group of the Lancet Palestinian Health Alliance - Professor Rita Giacaman |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Description | Global Forum on Humanitarian Health Research (GFH2R), led by the International Development Research Centre, Canada (IDRC), UK Medical Research Council (MRC), Wellcome Trust (UK) and US National Institute of Health (NIH) - Rita Giacaman |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Lancet Palestinian Health Alliance Steering Group - Rita Giacaman |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Lebanon - the failed state: how politics and policy shapes population health and wellbeing |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health |
| URL | https://r4hc-mena.org/wp1/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Political-Economy-of-Health-in-Conflict_FINAL_E... |
| Description | Ministry of Public Health Lebanon |
| Geographic Reach | Asia |
| Policy Influence Type | Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health |
| Description | Nudge Presentation: Behavioral insights to counter health inequalities |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| URL | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5269661/#wps20379-bib-0003 |
| Description | Reproductive Health Working Group, Arab World and Turkey - Rita Giacaman |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Research Methods for Mental Health in War and Conflict - Online Course |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Fifteen participants (11 males and 4 females) completed the post-course evaluation survey. Twelve have a Master's degree and three have a Ph.D. Six reported working in Governmental organisations, two in the UNRWA, three for local non-government organisations, two for International non-government organisations, one for the World Health Organisation (WHO), and one for Palestinian National Institute of Public Health-WHO. The number of working years for participants ranged from two years to 20 years with an average of nine years. They described the focus of their institutions as follows: education (3); research (6); services (8); community development (5); health (2); child protection and psychosocial (1); Public health surveillance and registries (1). Respondents reported being involved in the following research activities: project development (5), surveys (6), interviews (11), observations (6), report writing (10), research projects (11), and any form of data management (7). This course has not only been replicated across R4HC but has now run twice through the Future Learn Platform in late 2019 and late 2020. |
| Description | Strategic Advisory Board for the Center for Global Burn Injury Policy and Research |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | World Mental Health Initiative - Prof. Cengiz Kiliç, Member |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | AMR Global Development Award |
| Amount | £75,729 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | MR/R014914/1 |
| Organisation | Medical Research Council of South Africa (MRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | South Africa |
| Start | 10/2017 |
| End | 10/2018 |
| Description | Research for Health Systems Strengthening in northern Syria |
| Amount | £3,980,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 131207 |
| Organisation | National Institute for Health Research |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2020 |
| End | 10/2024 |
| Title | Infographic training manual |
| Description | Developed an infographic training manual as part of our research methods course. We trained participants in it as a more creative approach to data dissemination to communities/wider public. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Trained participants in the course Research methods for mental health in war and conflict as a more creative approach to data dissemination to communities/wider public. |
| Title | Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) Toolkit |
| Description | GMHLab developed Brief IPT toolkit for use for the current IPT rollout. A new addition to the provider battery, an adapted version of the Dissemination & Implementation (D&I) questionnaire for providers, developed by John Hopkins AMHR, will be administered pre and post IPT supervision. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Supports IPT trainers |
| Title | Medical Military Ethics Cards |
| Description | The aim of this specific project was to develop a set of playing cards that hosted scenarios and supporting discussions in military medical ethics to facilitate teaching and learning in military medical ethics. The project, while titled 'military medical ethics', it is also a highly relevant topic for humanitarian actors operating in conflict zones. Following a literature review and interviews, the playing cards tool were developed. The cards were designed to be used either as a supplement to eLearning or as a stand-alone learning tool. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Based on positive feedback from the users of the cards, the researchers are now developing a smartphone app. |
| URL | https://r4hc-mena.org/our-work/medical-ethics-education/ |
| Title | Mental Health and Psychosocial Directory (MHPSS) - West Bank/oPt |
| Description | The MHPSS Directory provides up-to-date information about governmental and non-governmental organisations providing mental health and psychosocial support services in the West Bank of the occupied Palestinian territory. It includes contact information, service location, types of services and activities, beneficiaries and MHPSS staffing.This MHPSS Directory can be used to aid in referrals, for facilitating cooperation and partnerships between organisations engaged in similar work, or for further research purposes in this field. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The availability of a roster with all psychosocial mental health institutions (Governmental, UNRWA and local and international NGOS) means that people have access to knowing how to refer those with mental health issues and that people have easy access to this tool. |
| URL | http://icph.birzeit.edu/research-intervention-tools/mental-health-and-psychosocial-directory-mhpss-w... |
| Title | NODDA 2017 Infographic |
| Description | An infographic developed on 'The Drug Situation in Lebanon' |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Tomas Folke provided visualisation for the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health report updating on the national mental health strategy, which was presented widely in their policy networks |
| Description | COVID-19 and Cancer Global Taskforce |
| Organisation | American University of Beirut |
| Country | Lebanon |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The group is led by R4HC-MENA and includes several Co-Investigators. The Covid-19 and Cancer Taskforce is a globally representative group of cancer leaders spanning the disciplines of cancer across the care continuum from prevention, early detection, treatment and palliative, to representatives of cancer centre networks and advocacy groups. A number of publications have been published by R4HC members and wider partners https://covidcancertaskforce.org/taskforce-publications and a number of webinars https://covidcancertaskforce.org/global-webinars |
| Collaborator Contribution | A project led by members of the Task Force, REPRISE, aims to re-examine cancer research priorities in LMICs in this emerging context. The project comprises three work strands. The outputs from these three work strands will feed into a Delphi consensus-making process involving expert individuals that are representative of LMICs in all WHO regions. The Delphi process aims to produce a list of research priorities for LMICs in a 'post-pandemic' environment. The three work strands that will feed into this project are 1) a snapshot survey; 2) a bibliometric analysis; and 3) a literature review. The snapshot survey aims to collect data from cancer research professionals all over the world, to examine what types of disruptions to their work have taken place due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in their country. The results of this snapshot survey have now been collated and will be presented at the AACR COVID-19 and Cancer virtual meeting taking place 3 rd -5 th February 2021. The bibliometric analysis aims to establish a picture of how resources for cancer research have historically been allocated in both high-income countries and in LMICs, examining research domains but also cancer types. The literature review will examine the impacts that the global outbreak of COVID-19 has had on the continuity of cancer research studies and cancer care; and on funding streams for cancer research. These questions will be examined using a qualitative approach that integrates the content from journalistic reports throughout 2020, as well as information obtained from cancer research funders as supplementary information. A number of publications have been published by R4HC members and wider partners https://covidcancertaskforce.org/taskforce-publications and a number of webinars https://covidcancertaskforce.org/global-webinars |
| Impact | de Jonge L, Worthington J, van Wifferen F, Iragorri N, Peterse EFP, Lew JB, Greuter MJE, Smith HA, Feletto E, Yong JHE, Canfell K, Coupé VMH, Lansdorp-Vogelaar I; COVID-19 and Cancer Global Modelling Consortium working group 2. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on faecal immunochemical test-based colorectal cancer screening programmes in Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands: a comparative modelling study. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021 Feb 3:S2468-1253(21)00003-0. PMID: 33548185 Ophira Ginsburg, Partha Basu, Sharon Kapambwe & Karen Canfell. Eliminating cervical cancer in the COVID-19 era. Nature Cancer (2021). Published: 03 February 2021 Tezer Kutluk Mustafa, Ahmed Fahad, Kirazli Meral, Yaman Bajin Inci, Müngen Eren, Ekinci Saniye, Yildiz Ferah (2021) The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on paediatric cancer care: lessons learnt from a major paediatric oncology department in Turkey ecancer 15 1172 Saab, R, Obeid, A, Gachi, F, Boudiaf, H, Sargsyan, L, Al-Saad, K, Javakhadze, T, Mehrvar, A, Abbas, SS, Abed Al-Agele, YS, Al-Haddad, S, Al Ani, MH, Al-Sweedan, S, Al Kofide, A, Jastaniah, W, Khalifa, N, Bechara, E, Baassiri, M, Noun, P, El-Houdzi, J, Khattab, M, Sagar Sharma, K, Wali, Y, Mushtaq, N, Batool, A, Faizan, M, Raza, MR, Najajreh, M, Mohammed Abdallah, MA, Sousan, G, Ghanem, KM, Kocak, U, Kutluk, T, Demir, HA, Hodeish, H, Muwakkit, S, Belgaumi, A, Al-Rawas, A-H, Jeha, S. Impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on pediatric oncology care in the Middle East, North Africa, and West Asia region: A report from the Pediatric Oncology East and Mediterranean (POEM) group. Cancer. 2020: 126: 4235- 4245. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.33075 Fewer cancer diagnoses during the COVID-19 epidemic in the Netherlands. Dinmohamed AG, Visser O, Verhoeven RHA, Louwman MWJ, van Nederveen FH, Willems SM, Merkx MAW, Lemmens VEPP, Nagtegaal ID, Siesling S.Lancet Oncol. 2020 Jun;21(6):750-751. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30265-5. Epub 2020 Apr 30.PMID: 32359403 The impact of the temporary suspension of national cancer screening programmes due to the COVID-19 epidemic on the diagnosis of breast and colorectal cancer in the Netherlands. Dinmohamed AG, Cellamare M, Visser O, de Munck L, Elferink MAG, Westenend PJ, Wesseling J, Broeders MJM, Kuipers EJ, Merkx MAW, Nagtegaal ID, Siesling S.J Hematol Oncol. 2020 Nov 4;13(1):147. doi: 10.1186/s13045-020-00984-1.PMID: 33148289 Russell B, Moss C, Rigg A, Van Hemelrijck M. Covid-19 and treatment with NSAIDs and corticosteroids: should we be limiting their use in the clinical setting? Ecancermedicalsciences (2020): In press. Russell B, Moss C, Rigg A, Hopkins C, Papa S, Van Hemelrijck M. Anosmia and ageusia are emerging as symptoms in patients with COVID-19: What does the current evidence say? Ecancermedicalsciences (2020): In press. Moss C, Dolly S, Russell B, Lei M, Ghosh S, Papa S, Sullivan R, Van Hemelrijck M, Rigg A, on behalf of Guy's Cancer Real World Evidence Programme. One piece of the jigsaw for the cancer recovery strategy: Prevalence of COVID-19 in patients with cancer. Cancer Control (2020): In press. Russell B, Moss C, Papa S, Irshad S, Ross P, Spicer J, Kordasti S, Crawley D, Wylie H, Cahill F, Haire A, Zaki K, Rahman F, Sita-Lumsden A, Josephs D, Enting D, Lei M, Ghosh S, Harrison C, Swampillai A, Saywer E, D'Souza A, Gomberg S, Fileds P, wrench D, Raj K, Gleeson M, Bailey K, Dillon R, Streetly M, Rigg A, Sullivan R, Dolly S, Van Hemelrijck M. Factors affecting COVID-19 outcomes in cancer patients: A first report from Guy's Cancer Centre in London. Frontiers in Oncology (2020): In press. Fox L, Wylie H, Cahill F, Haire A, Green S, Kibaru J, Hartley C, Sullivan R, Van Hemelrijck M. Gender differences in concerns about participating in cancer research during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cancer Control (2021): In press. Spencer-Bowdage S, Russell B, Rigby J, O'Kelly J, Kelly P, Page M, Raw C, Allchorne P, Harper P, Crew J, Kockelbergh R, Knight A, Van Hemelrijck M, Bryan RT. The experience of UK Bladder Cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: A survey-based snaphot. BJUI (2020): In press. Beyer K, Kinsella N, Van Hemelrijck M, Barod R. How does COVID-19 impact treatment decision-making for clinicians in localised kidney cancer? BJUI Compass (2020): In press. Purushotham A, Roberts G, Haire K Dodkins J, Harvey-Jones E, Han L, Rigg A, Twinn C, CS Pramesh, Ranganathan P, Sullivan R, Aggarwal, A. The impact of national non-pharmaceutical interventions ('lockdowns') on the presentation of cancer patients. eCancer 2021: 15 1180 D Chalk, S Robbins, R Kandasamy, K Rush, A Aggarwal, R Sullivan, C Chamberlain. Modelling Palliative and End of Life resource requirements during COVID-19: implications for quality care. BMJ Open 2021 (on line) Lai AG, Pasea L, Banerjee A, et al. Estimated impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer services and excess 1-year mortality in people with cancer and multimorbidity: near real-time data on cancer care, cancer deaths and a population-based cohort study BMJ Open 2020;10:e043828 Hanna T, King WD, Thibodea S, Jalink M, Paulin GA, Harvey-Jones E, O'Sullivan D, Booth C, Sullivan R, Aggarwal A. Mortality due to cancer treatment delay: A systematic review and meta-analysis BMJ 2020;371:m4087 Maringe C, Spicer J, Morris M, Purusthotham A, Nolte E, Sullivan R, Rachet B, Aggarwal A. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer deaths due to delays in diagnosis: a national population-based modelling study Lancet Oncology 2020, 21(8):1023-1034 Kong YC, Sakti VV, Sullivan R, Bhoo-Pathy N. Cancer and COVID-19: economic impact on households in Southeast Asia. Ecancermedicalscience. 2020;14:1134. doi: 10.3332/ecancer.2020.1134. Boufkhed S, Harding R, Kutluk T, Husseini A, Pourghazian N, Shamieh O. What Is the Preparedness and Capacity of Palliative Care Services in Middle-Eastern and North African Countries to Respond to COVID-19? A Rapid Survey. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2021 Feb;61(2):e13-e50. Shamieh O, Richardson K, Abdel-Razeq H, Harding R, Sullivan R, Mansour A. COVID-19-Impact on DNR Orders in the Largest Cancer Center in Jordan. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2020 Aug;60(2):e87-e89. Hamad L, Abdul Sater Z, Kutluck T, Shamieh O, Al Omari A, Fahed Z, Manachi M, Alrubai T, Abboud R, Mukherji D. COVID-19: regional perspectives from oncology centers in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Turkey. https://www.oncology-central.com/in-focus/in-focus-coronavirus/covid-19-regional-perspectives-from-oncology-centers-in-lebanon-syria-iraq-jordan-and-turkey/ Published online 18/May/2020 Bitar N, Kattan J, Kourie HR, Mukherji D, Saghir NE. The Lebanese Society of Medical Oncology (LSMO) statement on the care of patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future Oncol. 2020;16(11):615-617. doi:10.2217/fon-2020-0252 Nnaji Chukwudi A, Moodley Jennifer (2021) Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer diagnosis, treatment and research in African health systems: a review of current evidence and contextual perspectives ecancer 15 1170 Abdul-Sater Zahi, Menassa Marilyne, El Achi Nassim, Abdul-Khalek Rima A, Abu-Sittah Ghassan, Mukherji Deborah (2020) Strengthening capacity for cancer research in conflict settings: key informant insights from the Middle East ecancer 14 1153 Alessy Saleh A, Davies Elizabeth A, Jazieh Abdul-Rahman (2020) Cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic: a perspective from Saudi Arabia ecancer 14 1076 Lombe Dorothy C, Mwaba Catherine K, Msadabwe Susan C, Banda Lewis, Mwale Maurice, Pupwe George, Kamfwa Paul, Kanduza Mulape, Munkupa Harry, Maliti Biemba, Simbeye Kalyoka, Hachizo Pious, Lin Lilie, Chiao Elizabeth, Lishimpi Kennedy (2020) Zambia's National Cancer Centre response to the COVID-19 pandemic-an opportunity for improved care ecancer 14 1051 Yusuf Aasim (2020) Cancer care in the time of COVID-19-a perspective from Pakistan ecancer 14 1026 Dewi LKM, Gatellier L, Sabapathy K, Pramesh CS, Dai M, Huong TT, Gultekin M, Nansalmaa E, Htwe K, Yusuf A, Tahmasebi M, Pradhananga KK, Park JB, Hanapiah S, Sangrajran S, Baral RP, Jayusman AM, Iwata S, Kwek JW, Sengar M, Chinnaswamy G, He J, Tian G, Huyen PT, Thuan TV, Luvsanjodorj B, Myint YY, Chun JY, Han JS, Hwang W, Sari NK, Matsuda T An Asian Perspective of the Management of COVID-19: the Asian National Cancer Centers Alliance Led Regional Comparison Asian Pac J Cancer Care. 2020, 5 (S1), 27-42, DOI 10.31557/APJCC.2020.5.S1.27-42 Lombe D, Phiri M, Msadabwe S. Negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of cervical cancer patients in Zambia. Ecancermedicalscience. 2020;14:ed103. Published 2020 Jul 7. doi:10.3332/ecancer.2020.ed10 Webinars: A series of weekly webinars from the National Cancer Grid of India: https://tmc.gov.in/ncg/index.php/education/covid-webinars A joint Queen's University and King's College London global webinar series: https://www.oncologyeducation.com/events/oncologyeducation-event-videos/international-perspectives-on-covid-19-in-cancer-care Projects: Silver Linings - The study objectives are to: Elicit the changes and innovations in cancer care, grouping them into different themes representing the continuum of cancer care by conducting structured interviews with professionals of varying background. Conduct an electronic-based survey of oncology professionals globally based on the elicited themes to determine the differences and similarities in the silver linings. Highlight the challenges that will prevent these silver linings from being universally applied to support both recovery and future resilience. Health Care Professional Stress and Resilience: Taskforce colleagues in Japan led by Dr Tomohiro Matsuda, with Drs. Narikazu Boku, Rika Nakahara, Masaru Konishi, Asao Ogawa, Tatsuya Suzuki, Yosuke Uchitomi, Maiko Fujimori, Masako Okamura, and Shinichi Goto have nearly completed a major national study. They conducted surveys on stress, resilience and moral distress among cancer health care providers (n=3,764) working in National Cancer Center in Japan. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board and Ethics Committee of NCC, Japan, and was conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Helsinki Declaration. The surveys were done by an electronic questionnaire. Participation was encouraged through an email within the center. The 1 st survey was conducted from Jul. 7 to Jul. 27 2020, by asking theiremotion during the 1 st wave of the epidemic period (April-May) and the 2 nd E-mail based survey was conducted from Oct. 19 to Nov. 6 2020, by asking their current emotion. They compared the Connor-Davidson resilience scale scores, the perceived stress scale scores, and the moral distress thermometer scores between 1st survey (n=566) and 2nd survey (n=336). Statistically significant differences between the two surveys, and by sex and by occupation were found. Work from these national groups will be published and the aim is to then conduct a meta-analysis once national research has been completed. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | COVID-19 and Cancer Global Taskforce |
| Organisation | Cancer Society of Finland |
| Country | Finland |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The group is led by R4HC-MENA and includes several Co-Investigators. The Covid-19 and Cancer Taskforce is a globally representative group of cancer leaders spanning the disciplines of cancer across the care continuum from prevention, early detection, treatment and palliative, to representatives of cancer centre networks and advocacy groups. A number of publications have been published by R4HC members and wider partners https://covidcancertaskforce.org/taskforce-publications and a number of webinars https://covidcancertaskforce.org/global-webinars |
| Collaborator Contribution | A project led by members of the Task Force, REPRISE, aims to re-examine cancer research priorities in LMICs in this emerging context. The project comprises three work strands. The outputs from these three work strands will feed into a Delphi consensus-making process involving expert individuals that are representative of LMICs in all WHO regions. The Delphi process aims to produce a list of research priorities for LMICs in a 'post-pandemic' environment. The three work strands that will feed into this project are 1) a snapshot survey; 2) a bibliometric analysis; and 3) a literature review. The snapshot survey aims to collect data from cancer research professionals all over the world, to examine what types of disruptions to their work have taken place due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in their country. The results of this snapshot survey have now been collated and will be presented at the AACR COVID-19 and Cancer virtual meeting taking place 3 rd -5 th February 2021. The bibliometric analysis aims to establish a picture of how resources for cancer research have historically been allocated in both high-income countries and in LMICs, examining research domains but also cancer types. The literature review will examine the impacts that the global outbreak of COVID-19 has had on the continuity of cancer research studies and cancer care; and on funding streams for cancer research. These questions will be examined using a qualitative approach that integrates the content from journalistic reports throughout 2020, as well as information obtained from cancer research funders as supplementary information. A number of publications have been published by R4HC members and wider partners https://covidcancertaskforce.org/taskforce-publications and a number of webinars https://covidcancertaskforce.org/global-webinars |
| Impact | de Jonge L, Worthington J, van Wifferen F, Iragorri N, Peterse EFP, Lew JB, Greuter MJE, Smith HA, Feletto E, Yong JHE, Canfell K, Coupé VMH, Lansdorp-Vogelaar I; COVID-19 and Cancer Global Modelling Consortium working group 2. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on faecal immunochemical test-based colorectal cancer screening programmes in Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands: a comparative modelling study. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021 Feb 3:S2468-1253(21)00003-0. PMID: 33548185 Ophira Ginsburg, Partha Basu, Sharon Kapambwe & Karen Canfell. Eliminating cervical cancer in the COVID-19 era. Nature Cancer (2021). Published: 03 February 2021 Tezer Kutluk Mustafa, Ahmed Fahad, Kirazli Meral, Yaman Bajin Inci, Müngen Eren, Ekinci Saniye, Yildiz Ferah (2021) The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on paediatric cancer care: lessons learnt from a major paediatric oncology department in Turkey ecancer 15 1172 Saab, R, Obeid, A, Gachi, F, Boudiaf, H, Sargsyan, L, Al-Saad, K, Javakhadze, T, Mehrvar, A, Abbas, SS, Abed Al-Agele, YS, Al-Haddad, S, Al Ani, MH, Al-Sweedan, S, Al Kofide, A, Jastaniah, W, Khalifa, N, Bechara, E, Baassiri, M, Noun, P, El-Houdzi, J, Khattab, M, Sagar Sharma, K, Wali, Y, Mushtaq, N, Batool, A, Faizan, M, Raza, MR, Najajreh, M, Mohammed Abdallah, MA, Sousan, G, Ghanem, KM, Kocak, U, Kutluk, T, Demir, HA, Hodeish, H, Muwakkit, S, Belgaumi, A, Al-Rawas, A-H, Jeha, S. Impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on pediatric oncology care in the Middle East, North Africa, and West Asia region: A report from the Pediatric Oncology East and Mediterranean (POEM) group. Cancer. 2020: 126: 4235- 4245. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.33075 Fewer cancer diagnoses during the COVID-19 epidemic in the Netherlands. Dinmohamed AG, Visser O, Verhoeven RHA, Louwman MWJ, van Nederveen FH, Willems SM, Merkx MAW, Lemmens VEPP, Nagtegaal ID, Siesling S.Lancet Oncol. 2020 Jun;21(6):750-751. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30265-5. Epub 2020 Apr 30.PMID: 32359403 The impact of the temporary suspension of national cancer screening programmes due to the COVID-19 epidemic on the diagnosis of breast and colorectal cancer in the Netherlands. Dinmohamed AG, Cellamare M, Visser O, de Munck L, Elferink MAG, Westenend PJ, Wesseling J, Broeders MJM, Kuipers EJ, Merkx MAW, Nagtegaal ID, Siesling S.J Hematol Oncol. 2020 Nov 4;13(1):147. doi: 10.1186/s13045-020-00984-1.PMID: 33148289 Russell B, Moss C, Rigg A, Van Hemelrijck M. Covid-19 and treatment with NSAIDs and corticosteroids: should we be limiting their use in the clinical setting? Ecancermedicalsciences (2020): In press. Russell B, Moss C, Rigg A, Hopkins C, Papa S, Van Hemelrijck M. Anosmia and ageusia are emerging as symptoms in patients with COVID-19: What does the current evidence say? Ecancermedicalsciences (2020): In press. Moss C, Dolly S, Russell B, Lei M, Ghosh S, Papa S, Sullivan R, Van Hemelrijck M, Rigg A, on behalf of Guy's Cancer Real World Evidence Programme. One piece of the jigsaw for the cancer recovery strategy: Prevalence of COVID-19 in patients with cancer. Cancer Control (2020): In press. Russell B, Moss C, Papa S, Irshad S, Ross P, Spicer J, Kordasti S, Crawley D, Wylie H, Cahill F, Haire A, Zaki K, Rahman F, Sita-Lumsden A, Josephs D, Enting D, Lei M, Ghosh S, Harrison C, Swampillai A, Saywer E, D'Souza A, Gomberg S, Fileds P, wrench D, Raj K, Gleeson M, Bailey K, Dillon R, Streetly M, Rigg A, Sullivan R, Dolly S, Van Hemelrijck M. Factors affecting COVID-19 outcomes in cancer patients: A first report from Guy's Cancer Centre in London. Frontiers in Oncology (2020): In press. Fox L, Wylie H, Cahill F, Haire A, Green S, Kibaru J, Hartley C, Sullivan R, Van Hemelrijck M. Gender differences in concerns about participating in cancer research during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cancer Control (2021): In press. Spencer-Bowdage S, Russell B, Rigby J, O'Kelly J, Kelly P, Page M, Raw C, Allchorne P, Harper P, Crew J, Kockelbergh R, Knight A, Van Hemelrijck M, Bryan RT. The experience of UK Bladder Cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: A survey-based snaphot. BJUI (2020): In press. Beyer K, Kinsella N, Van Hemelrijck M, Barod R. How does COVID-19 impact treatment decision-making for clinicians in localised kidney cancer? BJUI Compass (2020): In press. Purushotham A, Roberts G, Haire K Dodkins J, Harvey-Jones E, Han L, Rigg A, Twinn C, CS Pramesh, Ranganathan P, Sullivan R, Aggarwal, A. The impact of national non-pharmaceutical interventions ('lockdowns') on the presentation of cancer patients. eCancer 2021: 15 1180 D Chalk, S Robbins, R Kandasamy, K Rush, A Aggarwal, R Sullivan, C Chamberlain. Modelling Palliative and End of Life resource requirements during COVID-19: implications for quality care. BMJ Open 2021 (on line) Lai AG, Pasea L, Banerjee A, et al. Estimated impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer services and excess 1-year mortality in people with cancer and multimorbidity: near real-time data on cancer care, cancer deaths and a population-based cohort study BMJ Open 2020;10:e043828 Hanna T, King WD, Thibodea S, Jalink M, Paulin GA, Harvey-Jones E, O'Sullivan D, Booth C, Sullivan R, Aggarwal A. Mortality due to cancer treatment delay: A systematic review and meta-analysis BMJ 2020;371:m4087 Maringe C, Spicer J, Morris M, Purusthotham A, Nolte E, Sullivan R, Rachet B, Aggarwal A. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer deaths due to delays in diagnosis: a national population-based modelling study Lancet Oncology 2020, 21(8):1023-1034 Kong YC, Sakti VV, Sullivan R, Bhoo-Pathy N. Cancer and COVID-19: economic impact on households in Southeast Asia. Ecancermedicalscience. 2020;14:1134. doi: 10.3332/ecancer.2020.1134. Boufkhed S, Harding R, Kutluk T, Husseini A, Pourghazian N, Shamieh O. What Is the Preparedness and Capacity of Palliative Care Services in Middle-Eastern and North African Countries to Respond to COVID-19? A Rapid Survey. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2021 Feb;61(2):e13-e50. Shamieh O, Richardson K, Abdel-Razeq H, Harding R, Sullivan R, Mansour A. COVID-19-Impact on DNR Orders in the Largest Cancer Center in Jordan. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2020 Aug;60(2):e87-e89. Hamad L, Abdul Sater Z, Kutluck T, Shamieh O, Al Omari A, Fahed Z, Manachi M, Alrubai T, Abboud R, Mukherji D. COVID-19: regional perspectives from oncology centers in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Turkey. https://www.oncology-central.com/in-focus/in-focus-coronavirus/covid-19-regional-perspectives-from-oncology-centers-in-lebanon-syria-iraq-jordan-and-turkey/ Published online 18/May/2020 Bitar N, Kattan J, Kourie HR, Mukherji D, Saghir NE. The Lebanese Society of Medical Oncology (LSMO) statement on the care of patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future Oncol. 2020;16(11):615-617. doi:10.2217/fon-2020-0252 Nnaji Chukwudi A, Moodley Jennifer (2021) Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer diagnosis, treatment and research in African health systems: a review of current evidence and contextual perspectives ecancer 15 1170 Abdul-Sater Zahi, Menassa Marilyne, El Achi Nassim, Abdul-Khalek Rima A, Abu-Sittah Ghassan, Mukherji Deborah (2020) Strengthening capacity for cancer research in conflict settings: key informant insights from the Middle East ecancer 14 1153 Alessy Saleh A, Davies Elizabeth A, Jazieh Abdul-Rahman (2020) Cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic: a perspective from Saudi Arabia ecancer 14 1076 Lombe Dorothy C, Mwaba Catherine K, Msadabwe Susan C, Banda Lewis, Mwale Maurice, Pupwe George, Kamfwa Paul, Kanduza Mulape, Munkupa Harry, Maliti Biemba, Simbeye Kalyoka, Hachizo Pious, Lin Lilie, Chiao Elizabeth, Lishimpi Kennedy (2020) Zambia's National Cancer Centre response to the COVID-19 pandemic-an opportunity for improved care ecancer 14 1051 Yusuf Aasim (2020) Cancer care in the time of COVID-19-a perspective from Pakistan ecancer 14 1026 Dewi LKM, Gatellier L, Sabapathy K, Pramesh CS, Dai M, Huong TT, Gultekin M, Nansalmaa E, Htwe K, Yusuf A, Tahmasebi M, Pradhananga KK, Park JB, Hanapiah S, Sangrajran S, Baral RP, Jayusman AM, Iwata S, Kwek JW, Sengar M, Chinnaswamy G, He J, Tian G, Huyen PT, Thuan TV, Luvsanjodorj B, Myint YY, Chun JY, Han JS, Hwang W, Sari NK, Matsuda T An Asian Perspective of the Management of COVID-19: the Asian National Cancer Centers Alliance Led Regional Comparison Asian Pac J Cancer Care. 2020, 5 (S1), 27-42, DOI 10.31557/APJCC.2020.5.S1.27-42 Lombe D, Phiri M, Msadabwe S. Negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of cervical cancer patients in Zambia. Ecancermedicalscience. 2020;14:ed103. Published 2020 Jul 7. doi:10.3332/ecancer.2020.ed10 Webinars: A series of weekly webinars from the National Cancer Grid of India: https://tmc.gov.in/ncg/index.php/education/covid-webinars A joint Queen's University and King's College London global webinar series: https://www.oncologyeducation.com/events/oncologyeducation-event-videos/international-perspectives-on-covid-19-in-cancer-care Projects: Silver Linings - The study objectives are to: Elicit the changes and innovations in cancer care, grouping them into different themes representing the continuum of cancer care by conducting structured interviews with professionals of varying background. Conduct an electronic-based survey of oncology professionals globally based on the elicited themes to determine the differences and similarities in the silver linings. Highlight the challenges that will prevent these silver linings from being universally applied to support both recovery and future resilience. Health Care Professional Stress and Resilience: Taskforce colleagues in Japan led by Dr Tomohiro Matsuda, with Drs. Narikazu Boku, Rika Nakahara, Masaru Konishi, Asao Ogawa, Tatsuya Suzuki, Yosuke Uchitomi, Maiko Fujimori, Masako Okamura, and Shinichi Goto have nearly completed a major national study. They conducted surveys on stress, resilience and moral distress among cancer health care providers (n=3,764) working in National Cancer Center in Japan. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board and Ethics Committee of NCC, Japan, and was conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Helsinki Declaration. The surveys were done by an electronic questionnaire. Participation was encouraged through an email within the center. The 1 st survey was conducted from Jul. 7 to Jul. 27 2020, by asking theiremotion during the 1 st wave of the epidemic period (April-May) and the 2 nd E-mail based survey was conducted from Oct. 19 to Nov. 6 2020, by asking their current emotion. They compared the Connor-Davidson resilience scale scores, the perceived stress scale scores, and the moral distress thermometer scores between 1st survey (n=566) and 2nd survey (n=336). Statistically significant differences between the two surveys, and by sex and by occupation were found. Work from these national groups will be published and the aim is to then conduct a meta-analysis once national research has been completed. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | COVID-19 and Cancer Global Taskforce |
| Organisation | European Cancer Organisation (ECCO) |
| Country | Belgium |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The group is led by R4HC-MENA and includes several Co-Investigators. The Covid-19 and Cancer Taskforce is a globally representative group of cancer leaders spanning the disciplines of cancer across the care continuum from prevention, early detection, treatment and palliative, to representatives of cancer centre networks and advocacy groups. A number of publications have been published by R4HC members and wider partners https://covidcancertaskforce.org/taskforce-publications and a number of webinars https://covidcancertaskforce.org/global-webinars |
| Collaborator Contribution | A project led by members of the Task Force, REPRISE, aims to re-examine cancer research priorities in LMICs in this emerging context. The project comprises three work strands. The outputs from these three work strands will feed into a Delphi consensus-making process involving expert individuals that are representative of LMICs in all WHO regions. The Delphi process aims to produce a list of research priorities for LMICs in a 'post-pandemic' environment. The three work strands that will feed into this project are 1) a snapshot survey; 2) a bibliometric analysis; and 3) a literature review. The snapshot survey aims to collect data from cancer research professionals all over the world, to examine what types of disruptions to their work have taken place due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in their country. The results of this snapshot survey have now been collated and will be presented at the AACR COVID-19 and Cancer virtual meeting taking place 3 rd -5 th February 2021. The bibliometric analysis aims to establish a picture of how resources for cancer research have historically been allocated in both high-income countries and in LMICs, examining research domains but also cancer types. The literature review will examine the impacts that the global outbreak of COVID-19 has had on the continuity of cancer research studies and cancer care; and on funding streams for cancer research. These questions will be examined using a qualitative approach that integrates the content from journalistic reports throughout 2020, as well as information obtained from cancer research funders as supplementary information. A number of publications have been published by R4HC members and wider partners https://covidcancertaskforce.org/taskforce-publications and a number of webinars https://covidcancertaskforce.org/global-webinars |
| Impact | de Jonge L, Worthington J, van Wifferen F, Iragorri N, Peterse EFP, Lew JB, Greuter MJE, Smith HA, Feletto E, Yong JHE, Canfell K, Coupé VMH, Lansdorp-Vogelaar I; COVID-19 and Cancer Global Modelling Consortium working group 2. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on faecal immunochemical test-based colorectal cancer screening programmes in Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands: a comparative modelling study. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021 Feb 3:S2468-1253(21)00003-0. PMID: 33548185 Ophira Ginsburg, Partha Basu, Sharon Kapambwe & Karen Canfell. Eliminating cervical cancer in the COVID-19 era. Nature Cancer (2021). Published: 03 February 2021 Tezer Kutluk Mustafa, Ahmed Fahad, Kirazli Meral, Yaman Bajin Inci, Müngen Eren, Ekinci Saniye, Yildiz Ferah (2021) The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on paediatric cancer care: lessons learnt from a major paediatric oncology department in Turkey ecancer 15 1172 Saab, R, Obeid, A, Gachi, F, Boudiaf, H, Sargsyan, L, Al-Saad, K, Javakhadze, T, Mehrvar, A, Abbas, SS, Abed Al-Agele, YS, Al-Haddad, S, Al Ani, MH, Al-Sweedan, S, Al Kofide, A, Jastaniah, W, Khalifa, N, Bechara, E, Baassiri, M, Noun, P, El-Houdzi, J, Khattab, M, Sagar Sharma, K, Wali, Y, Mushtaq, N, Batool, A, Faizan, M, Raza, MR, Najajreh, M, Mohammed Abdallah, MA, Sousan, G, Ghanem, KM, Kocak, U, Kutluk, T, Demir, HA, Hodeish, H, Muwakkit, S, Belgaumi, A, Al-Rawas, A-H, Jeha, S. Impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on pediatric oncology care in the Middle East, North Africa, and West Asia region: A report from the Pediatric Oncology East and Mediterranean (POEM) group. Cancer. 2020: 126: 4235- 4245. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.33075 Fewer cancer diagnoses during the COVID-19 epidemic in the Netherlands. Dinmohamed AG, Visser O, Verhoeven RHA, Louwman MWJ, van Nederveen FH, Willems SM, Merkx MAW, Lemmens VEPP, Nagtegaal ID, Siesling S.Lancet Oncol. 2020 Jun;21(6):750-751. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30265-5. Epub 2020 Apr 30.PMID: 32359403 The impact of the temporary suspension of national cancer screening programmes due to the COVID-19 epidemic on the diagnosis of breast and colorectal cancer in the Netherlands. Dinmohamed AG, Cellamare M, Visser O, de Munck L, Elferink MAG, Westenend PJ, Wesseling J, Broeders MJM, Kuipers EJ, Merkx MAW, Nagtegaal ID, Siesling S.J Hematol Oncol. 2020 Nov 4;13(1):147. doi: 10.1186/s13045-020-00984-1.PMID: 33148289 Russell B, Moss C, Rigg A, Van Hemelrijck M. Covid-19 and treatment with NSAIDs and corticosteroids: should we be limiting their use in the clinical setting? Ecancermedicalsciences (2020): In press. Russell B, Moss C, Rigg A, Hopkins C, Papa S, Van Hemelrijck M. Anosmia and ageusia are emerging as symptoms in patients with COVID-19: What does the current evidence say? Ecancermedicalsciences (2020): In press. Moss C, Dolly S, Russell B, Lei M, Ghosh S, Papa S, Sullivan R, Van Hemelrijck M, Rigg A, on behalf of Guy's Cancer Real World Evidence Programme. One piece of the jigsaw for the cancer recovery strategy: Prevalence of COVID-19 in patients with cancer. Cancer Control (2020): In press. Russell B, Moss C, Papa S, Irshad S, Ross P, Spicer J, Kordasti S, Crawley D, Wylie H, Cahill F, Haire A, Zaki K, Rahman F, Sita-Lumsden A, Josephs D, Enting D, Lei M, Ghosh S, Harrison C, Swampillai A, Saywer E, D'Souza A, Gomberg S, Fileds P, wrench D, Raj K, Gleeson M, Bailey K, Dillon R, Streetly M, Rigg A, Sullivan R, Dolly S, Van Hemelrijck M. Factors affecting COVID-19 outcomes in cancer patients: A first report from Guy's Cancer Centre in London. Frontiers in Oncology (2020): In press. Fox L, Wylie H, Cahill F, Haire A, Green S, Kibaru J, Hartley C, Sullivan R, Van Hemelrijck M. Gender differences in concerns about participating in cancer research during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cancer Control (2021): In press. Spencer-Bowdage S, Russell B, Rigby J, O'Kelly J, Kelly P, Page M, Raw C, Allchorne P, Harper P, Crew J, Kockelbergh R, Knight A, Van Hemelrijck M, Bryan RT. The experience of UK Bladder Cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: A survey-based snaphot. BJUI (2020): In press. Beyer K, Kinsella N, Van Hemelrijck M, Barod R. How does COVID-19 impact treatment decision-making for clinicians in localised kidney cancer? BJUI Compass (2020): In press. Purushotham A, Roberts G, Haire K Dodkins J, Harvey-Jones E, Han L, Rigg A, Twinn C, CS Pramesh, Ranganathan P, Sullivan R, Aggarwal, A. The impact of national non-pharmaceutical interventions ('lockdowns') on the presentation of cancer patients. eCancer 2021: 15 1180 D Chalk, S Robbins, R Kandasamy, K Rush, A Aggarwal, R Sullivan, C Chamberlain. Modelling Palliative and End of Life resource requirements during COVID-19: implications for quality care. BMJ Open 2021 (on line) Lai AG, Pasea L, Banerjee A, et al. Estimated impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer services and excess 1-year mortality in people with cancer and multimorbidity: near real-time data on cancer care, cancer deaths and a population-based cohort study BMJ Open 2020;10:e043828 Hanna T, King WD, Thibodea S, Jalink M, Paulin GA, Harvey-Jones E, O'Sullivan D, Booth C, Sullivan R, Aggarwal A. Mortality due to cancer treatment delay: A systematic review and meta-analysis BMJ 2020;371:m4087 Maringe C, Spicer J, Morris M, Purusthotham A, Nolte E, Sullivan R, Rachet B, Aggarwal A. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer deaths due to delays in diagnosis: a national population-based modelling study Lancet Oncology 2020, 21(8):1023-1034 Kong YC, Sakti VV, Sullivan R, Bhoo-Pathy N. Cancer and COVID-19: economic impact on households in Southeast Asia. Ecancermedicalscience. 2020;14:1134. doi: 10.3332/ecancer.2020.1134. Boufkhed S, Harding R, Kutluk T, Husseini A, Pourghazian N, Shamieh O. What Is the Preparedness and Capacity of Palliative Care Services in Middle-Eastern and North African Countries to Respond to COVID-19? A Rapid Survey. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2021 Feb;61(2):e13-e50. Shamieh O, Richardson K, Abdel-Razeq H, Harding R, Sullivan R, Mansour A. COVID-19-Impact on DNR Orders in the Largest Cancer Center in Jordan. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2020 Aug;60(2):e87-e89. Hamad L, Abdul Sater Z, Kutluck T, Shamieh O, Al Omari A, Fahed Z, Manachi M, Alrubai T, Abboud R, Mukherji D. COVID-19: regional perspectives from oncology centers in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Turkey. https://www.oncology-central.com/in-focus/in-focus-coronavirus/covid-19-regional-perspectives-from-oncology-centers-in-lebanon-syria-iraq-jordan-and-turkey/ Published online 18/May/2020 Bitar N, Kattan J, Kourie HR, Mukherji D, Saghir NE. The Lebanese Society of Medical Oncology (LSMO) statement on the care of patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future Oncol. 2020;16(11):615-617. doi:10.2217/fon-2020-0252 Nnaji Chukwudi A, Moodley Jennifer (2021) Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer diagnosis, treatment and research in African health systems: a review of current evidence and contextual perspectives ecancer 15 1170 Abdul-Sater Zahi, Menassa Marilyne, El Achi Nassim, Abdul-Khalek Rima A, Abu-Sittah Ghassan, Mukherji Deborah (2020) Strengthening capacity for cancer research in conflict settings: key informant insights from the Middle East ecancer 14 1153 Alessy Saleh A, Davies Elizabeth A, Jazieh Abdul-Rahman (2020) Cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic: a perspective from Saudi Arabia ecancer 14 1076 Lombe Dorothy C, Mwaba Catherine K, Msadabwe Susan C, Banda Lewis, Mwale Maurice, Pupwe George, Kamfwa Paul, Kanduza Mulape, Munkupa Harry, Maliti Biemba, Simbeye Kalyoka, Hachizo Pious, Lin Lilie, Chiao Elizabeth, Lishimpi Kennedy (2020) Zambia's National Cancer Centre response to the COVID-19 pandemic-an opportunity for improved care ecancer 14 1051 Yusuf Aasim (2020) Cancer care in the time of COVID-19-a perspective from Pakistan ecancer 14 1026 Dewi LKM, Gatellier L, Sabapathy K, Pramesh CS, Dai M, Huong TT, Gultekin M, Nansalmaa E, Htwe K, Yusuf A, Tahmasebi M, Pradhananga KK, Park JB, Hanapiah S, Sangrajran S, Baral RP, Jayusman AM, Iwata S, Kwek JW, Sengar M, Chinnaswamy G, He J, Tian G, Huyen PT, Thuan TV, Luvsanjodorj B, Myint YY, Chun JY, Han JS, Hwang W, Sari NK, Matsuda T An Asian Perspective of the Management of COVID-19: the Asian National Cancer Centers Alliance Led Regional Comparison Asian Pac J Cancer Care. 2020, 5 (S1), 27-42, DOI 10.31557/APJCC.2020.5.S1.27-42 Lombe D, Phiri M, Msadabwe S. Negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of cervical cancer patients in Zambia. Ecancermedicalscience. 2020;14:ed103. Published 2020 Jul 7. doi:10.3332/ecancer.2020.ed10 Webinars: A series of weekly webinars from the National Cancer Grid of India: https://tmc.gov.in/ncg/index.php/education/covid-webinars A joint Queen's University and King's College London global webinar series: https://www.oncologyeducation.com/events/oncologyeducation-event-videos/international-perspectives-on-covid-19-in-cancer-care Projects: Silver Linings - The study objectives are to: Elicit the changes and innovations in cancer care, grouping them into different themes representing the continuum of cancer care by conducting structured interviews with professionals of varying background. Conduct an electronic-based survey of oncology professionals globally based on the elicited themes to determine the differences and similarities in the silver linings. Highlight the challenges that will prevent these silver linings from being universally applied to support both recovery and future resilience. Health Care Professional Stress and Resilience: Taskforce colleagues in Japan led by Dr Tomohiro Matsuda, with Drs. Narikazu Boku, Rika Nakahara, Masaru Konishi, Asao Ogawa, Tatsuya Suzuki, Yosuke Uchitomi, Maiko Fujimori, Masako Okamura, and Shinichi Goto have nearly completed a major national study. They conducted surveys on stress, resilience and moral distress among cancer health care providers (n=3,764) working in National Cancer Center in Japan. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board and Ethics Committee of NCC, Japan, and was conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Helsinki Declaration. The surveys were done by an electronic questionnaire. Participation was encouraged through an email within the center. The 1 st survey was conducted from Jul. 7 to Jul. 27 2020, by asking theiremotion during the 1 st wave of the epidemic period (April-May) and the 2 nd E-mail based survey was conducted from Oct. 19 to Nov. 6 2020, by asking their current emotion. They compared the Connor-Davidson resilience scale scores, the perceived stress scale scores, and the moral distress thermometer scores between 1st survey (n=566) and 2nd survey (n=336). Statistically significant differences between the two surveys, and by sex and by occupation were found. Work from these national groups will be published and the aim is to then conduct a meta-analysis once national research has been completed. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | COVID-19 and Cancer Global Taskforce |
| Organisation | German Cancer Research Center |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The group is led by R4HC-MENA and includes several Co-Investigators. The Covid-19 and Cancer Taskforce is a globally representative group of cancer leaders spanning the disciplines of cancer across the care continuum from prevention, early detection, treatment and palliative, to representatives of cancer centre networks and advocacy groups. A number of publications have been published by R4HC members and wider partners https://covidcancertaskforce.org/taskforce-publications and a number of webinars https://covidcancertaskforce.org/global-webinars |
| Collaborator Contribution | A project led by members of the Task Force, REPRISE, aims to re-examine cancer research priorities in LMICs in this emerging context. The project comprises three work strands. The outputs from these three work strands will feed into a Delphi consensus-making process involving expert individuals that are representative of LMICs in all WHO regions. The Delphi process aims to produce a list of research priorities for LMICs in a 'post-pandemic' environment. The three work strands that will feed into this project are 1) a snapshot survey; 2) a bibliometric analysis; and 3) a literature review. The snapshot survey aims to collect data from cancer research professionals all over the world, to examine what types of disruptions to their work have taken place due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in their country. The results of this snapshot survey have now been collated and will be presented at the AACR COVID-19 and Cancer virtual meeting taking place 3 rd -5 th February 2021. The bibliometric analysis aims to establish a picture of how resources for cancer research have historically been allocated in both high-income countries and in LMICs, examining research domains but also cancer types. The literature review will examine the impacts that the global outbreak of COVID-19 has had on the continuity of cancer research studies and cancer care; and on funding streams for cancer research. These questions will be examined using a qualitative approach that integrates the content from journalistic reports throughout 2020, as well as information obtained from cancer research funders as supplementary information. A number of publications have been published by R4HC members and wider partners https://covidcancertaskforce.org/taskforce-publications and a number of webinars https://covidcancertaskforce.org/global-webinars |
| Impact | de Jonge L, Worthington J, van Wifferen F, Iragorri N, Peterse EFP, Lew JB, Greuter MJE, Smith HA, Feletto E, Yong JHE, Canfell K, Coupé VMH, Lansdorp-Vogelaar I; COVID-19 and Cancer Global Modelling Consortium working group 2. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on faecal immunochemical test-based colorectal cancer screening programmes in Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands: a comparative modelling study. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021 Feb 3:S2468-1253(21)00003-0. PMID: 33548185 Ophira Ginsburg, Partha Basu, Sharon Kapambwe & Karen Canfell. Eliminating cervical cancer in the COVID-19 era. Nature Cancer (2021). Published: 03 February 2021 Tezer Kutluk Mustafa, Ahmed Fahad, Kirazli Meral, Yaman Bajin Inci, Müngen Eren, Ekinci Saniye, Yildiz Ferah (2021) The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on paediatric cancer care: lessons learnt from a major paediatric oncology department in Turkey ecancer 15 1172 Saab, R, Obeid, A, Gachi, F, Boudiaf, H, Sargsyan, L, Al-Saad, K, Javakhadze, T, Mehrvar, A, Abbas, SS, Abed Al-Agele, YS, Al-Haddad, S, Al Ani, MH, Al-Sweedan, S, Al Kofide, A, Jastaniah, W, Khalifa, N, Bechara, E, Baassiri, M, Noun, P, El-Houdzi, J, Khattab, M, Sagar Sharma, K, Wali, Y, Mushtaq, N, Batool, A, Faizan, M, Raza, MR, Najajreh, M, Mohammed Abdallah, MA, Sousan, G, Ghanem, KM, Kocak, U, Kutluk, T, Demir, HA, Hodeish, H, Muwakkit, S, Belgaumi, A, Al-Rawas, A-H, Jeha, S. Impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on pediatric oncology care in the Middle East, North Africa, and West Asia region: A report from the Pediatric Oncology East and Mediterranean (POEM) group. Cancer. 2020: 126: 4235- 4245. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.33075 Fewer cancer diagnoses during the COVID-19 epidemic in the Netherlands. Dinmohamed AG, Visser O, Verhoeven RHA, Louwman MWJ, van Nederveen FH, Willems SM, Merkx MAW, Lemmens VEPP, Nagtegaal ID, Siesling S.Lancet Oncol. 2020 Jun;21(6):750-751. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30265-5. Epub 2020 Apr 30.PMID: 32359403 The impact of the temporary suspension of national cancer screening programmes due to the COVID-19 epidemic on the diagnosis of breast and colorectal cancer in the Netherlands. Dinmohamed AG, Cellamare M, Visser O, de Munck L, Elferink MAG, Westenend PJ, Wesseling J, Broeders MJM, Kuipers EJ, Merkx MAW, Nagtegaal ID, Siesling S.J Hematol Oncol. 2020 Nov 4;13(1):147. doi: 10.1186/s13045-020-00984-1.PMID: 33148289 Russell B, Moss C, Rigg A, Van Hemelrijck M. Covid-19 and treatment with NSAIDs and corticosteroids: should we be limiting their use in the clinical setting? Ecancermedicalsciences (2020): In press. Russell B, Moss C, Rigg A, Hopkins C, Papa S, Van Hemelrijck M. Anosmia and ageusia are emerging as symptoms in patients with COVID-19: What does the current evidence say? Ecancermedicalsciences (2020): In press. Moss C, Dolly S, Russell B, Lei M, Ghosh S, Papa S, Sullivan R, Van Hemelrijck M, Rigg A, on behalf of Guy's Cancer Real World Evidence Programme. One piece of the jigsaw for the cancer recovery strategy: Prevalence of COVID-19 in patients with cancer. Cancer Control (2020): In press. Russell B, Moss C, Papa S, Irshad S, Ross P, Spicer J, Kordasti S, Crawley D, Wylie H, Cahill F, Haire A, Zaki K, Rahman F, Sita-Lumsden A, Josephs D, Enting D, Lei M, Ghosh S, Harrison C, Swampillai A, Saywer E, D'Souza A, Gomberg S, Fileds P, wrench D, Raj K, Gleeson M, Bailey K, Dillon R, Streetly M, Rigg A, Sullivan R, Dolly S, Van Hemelrijck M. Factors affecting COVID-19 outcomes in cancer patients: A first report from Guy's Cancer Centre in London. Frontiers in Oncology (2020): In press. Fox L, Wylie H, Cahill F, Haire A, Green S, Kibaru J, Hartley C, Sullivan R, Van Hemelrijck M. Gender differences in concerns about participating in cancer research during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cancer Control (2021): In press. Spencer-Bowdage S, Russell B, Rigby J, O'Kelly J, Kelly P, Page M, Raw C, Allchorne P, Harper P, Crew J, Kockelbergh R, Knight A, Van Hemelrijck M, Bryan RT. The experience of UK Bladder Cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: A survey-based snaphot. BJUI (2020): In press. Beyer K, Kinsella N, Van Hemelrijck M, Barod R. How does COVID-19 impact treatment decision-making for clinicians in localised kidney cancer? BJUI Compass (2020): In press. Purushotham A, Roberts G, Haire K Dodkins J, Harvey-Jones E, Han L, Rigg A, Twinn C, CS Pramesh, Ranganathan P, Sullivan R, Aggarwal, A. The impact of national non-pharmaceutical interventions ('lockdowns') on the presentation of cancer patients. eCancer 2021: 15 1180 D Chalk, S Robbins, R Kandasamy, K Rush, A Aggarwal, R Sullivan, C Chamberlain. Modelling Palliative and End of Life resource requirements during COVID-19: implications for quality care. BMJ Open 2021 (on line) Lai AG, Pasea L, Banerjee A, et al. Estimated impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer services and excess 1-year mortality in people with cancer and multimorbidity: near real-time data on cancer care, cancer deaths and a population-based cohort study BMJ Open 2020;10:e043828 Hanna T, King WD, Thibodea S, Jalink M, Paulin GA, Harvey-Jones E, O'Sullivan D, Booth C, Sullivan R, Aggarwal A. Mortality due to cancer treatment delay: A systematic review and meta-analysis BMJ 2020;371:m4087 Maringe C, Spicer J, Morris M, Purusthotham A, Nolte E, Sullivan R, Rachet B, Aggarwal A. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer deaths due to delays in diagnosis: a national population-based modelling study Lancet Oncology 2020, 21(8):1023-1034 Kong YC, Sakti VV, Sullivan R, Bhoo-Pathy N. Cancer and COVID-19: economic impact on households in Southeast Asia. Ecancermedicalscience. 2020;14:1134. doi: 10.3332/ecancer.2020.1134. Boufkhed S, Harding R, Kutluk T, Husseini A, Pourghazian N, Shamieh O. What Is the Preparedness and Capacity of Palliative Care Services in Middle-Eastern and North African Countries to Respond to COVID-19? A Rapid Survey. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2021 Feb;61(2):e13-e50. Shamieh O, Richardson K, Abdel-Razeq H, Harding R, Sullivan R, Mansour A. COVID-19-Impact on DNR Orders in the Largest Cancer Center in Jordan. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2020 Aug;60(2):e87-e89. Hamad L, Abdul Sater Z, Kutluck T, Shamieh O, Al Omari A, Fahed Z, Manachi M, Alrubai T, Abboud R, Mukherji D. COVID-19: regional perspectives from oncology centers in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Turkey. https://www.oncology-central.com/in-focus/in-focus-coronavirus/covid-19-regional-perspectives-from-oncology-centers-in-lebanon-syria-iraq-jordan-and-turkey/ Published online 18/May/2020 Bitar N, Kattan J, Kourie HR, Mukherji D, Saghir NE. The Lebanese Society of Medical Oncology (LSMO) statement on the care of patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future Oncol. 2020;16(11):615-617. doi:10.2217/fon-2020-0252 Nnaji Chukwudi A, Moodley Jennifer (2021) Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer diagnosis, treatment and research in African health systems: a review of current evidence and contextual perspectives ecancer 15 1170 Abdul-Sater Zahi, Menassa Marilyne, El Achi Nassim, Abdul-Khalek Rima A, Abu-Sittah Ghassan, Mukherji Deborah (2020) Strengthening capacity for cancer research in conflict settings: key informant insights from the Middle East ecancer 14 1153 Alessy Saleh A, Davies Elizabeth A, Jazieh Abdul-Rahman (2020) Cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic: a perspective from Saudi Arabia ecancer 14 1076 Lombe Dorothy C, Mwaba Catherine K, Msadabwe Susan C, Banda Lewis, Mwale Maurice, Pupwe George, Kamfwa Paul, Kanduza Mulape, Munkupa Harry, Maliti Biemba, Simbeye Kalyoka, Hachizo Pious, Lin Lilie, Chiao Elizabeth, Lishimpi Kennedy (2020) Zambia's National Cancer Centre response to the COVID-19 pandemic-an opportunity for improved care ecancer 14 1051 Yusuf Aasim (2020) Cancer care in the time of COVID-19-a perspective from Pakistan ecancer 14 1026 Dewi LKM, Gatellier L, Sabapathy K, Pramesh CS, Dai M, Huong TT, Gultekin M, Nansalmaa E, Htwe K, Yusuf A, Tahmasebi M, Pradhananga KK, Park JB, Hanapiah S, Sangrajran S, Baral RP, Jayusman AM, Iwata S, Kwek JW, Sengar M, Chinnaswamy G, He J, Tian G, Huyen PT, Thuan TV, Luvsanjodorj B, Myint YY, Chun JY, Han JS, Hwang W, Sari NK, Matsuda T An Asian Perspective of the Management of COVID-19: the Asian National Cancer Centers Alliance Led Regional Comparison Asian Pac J Cancer Care. 2020, 5 (S1), 27-42, DOI 10.31557/APJCC.2020.5.S1.27-42 Lombe D, Phiri M, Msadabwe S. Negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of cervical cancer patients in Zambia. Ecancermedicalscience. 2020;14:ed103. Published 2020 Jul 7. doi:10.3332/ecancer.2020.ed10 Webinars: A series of weekly webinars from the National Cancer Grid of India: https://tmc.gov.in/ncg/index.php/education/covid-webinars A joint Queen's University and King's College London global webinar series: https://www.oncologyeducation.com/events/oncologyeducation-event-videos/international-perspectives-on-covid-19-in-cancer-care Projects: Silver Linings - The study objectives are to: Elicit the changes and innovations in cancer care, grouping them into different themes representing the continuum of cancer care by conducting structured interviews with professionals of varying background. Conduct an electronic-based survey of oncology professionals globally based on the elicited themes to determine the differences and similarities in the silver linings. Highlight the challenges that will prevent these silver linings from being universally applied to support both recovery and future resilience. Health Care Professional Stress and Resilience: Taskforce colleagues in Japan led by Dr Tomohiro Matsuda, with Drs. Narikazu Boku, Rika Nakahara, Masaru Konishi, Asao Ogawa, Tatsuya Suzuki, Yosuke Uchitomi, Maiko Fujimori, Masako Okamura, and Shinichi Goto have nearly completed a major national study. They conducted surveys on stress, resilience and moral distress among cancer health care providers (n=3,764) working in National Cancer Center in Japan. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board and Ethics Committee of NCC, Japan, and was conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Helsinki Declaration. The surveys were done by an electronic questionnaire. Participation was encouraged through an email within the center. The 1 st survey was conducted from Jul. 7 to Jul. 27 2020, by asking theiremotion during the 1 st wave of the epidemic period (April-May) and the 2 nd E-mail based survey was conducted from Oct. 19 to Nov. 6 2020, by asking their current emotion. They compared the Connor-Davidson resilience scale scores, the perceived stress scale scores, and the moral distress thermometer scores between 1st survey (n=566) and 2nd survey (n=336). Statistically significant differences between the two surveys, and by sex and by occupation were found. Work from these national groups will be published and the aim is to then conduct a meta-analysis once national research has been completed. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | COVID-19 and Cancer Global Taskforce |
| Organisation | Government of The Gambia |
| Department | Ministry of Health Gambia |
| Country | Gambia |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | The group is led by R4HC-MENA and includes several Co-Investigators. The Covid-19 and Cancer Taskforce is a globally representative group of cancer leaders spanning the disciplines of cancer across the care continuum from prevention, early detection, treatment and palliative, to representatives of cancer centre networks and advocacy groups. A number of publications have been published by R4HC members and wider partners https://covidcancertaskforce.org/taskforce-publications and a number of webinars https://covidcancertaskforce.org/global-webinars |
| Collaborator Contribution | A project led by members of the Task Force, REPRISE, aims to re-examine cancer research priorities in LMICs in this emerging context. The project comprises three work strands. The outputs from these three work strands will feed into a Delphi consensus-making process involving expert individuals that are representative of LMICs in all WHO regions. The Delphi process aims to produce a list of research priorities for LMICs in a 'post-pandemic' environment. The three work strands that will feed into this project are 1) a snapshot survey; 2) a bibliometric analysis; and 3) a literature review. The snapshot survey aims to collect data from cancer research professionals all over the world, to examine what types of disruptions to their work have taken place due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in their country. The results of this snapshot survey have now been collated and will be presented at the AACR COVID-19 and Cancer virtual meeting taking place 3 rd -5 th February 2021. The bibliometric analysis aims to establish a picture of how resources for cancer research have historically been allocated in both high-income countries and in LMICs, examining research domains but also cancer types. The literature review will examine the impacts that the global outbreak of COVID-19 has had on the continuity of cancer research studies and cancer care; and on funding streams for cancer research. These questions will be examined using a qualitative approach that integrates the content from journalistic reports throughout 2020, as well as information obtained from cancer research funders as supplementary information. A number of publications have been published by R4HC members and wider partners https://covidcancertaskforce.org/taskforce-publications and a number of webinars https://covidcancertaskforce.org/global-webinars |
| Impact | de Jonge L, Worthington J, van Wifferen F, Iragorri N, Peterse EFP, Lew JB, Greuter MJE, Smith HA, Feletto E, Yong JHE, Canfell K, Coupé VMH, Lansdorp-Vogelaar I; COVID-19 and Cancer Global Modelling Consortium working group 2. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on faecal immunochemical test-based colorectal cancer screening programmes in Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands: a comparative modelling study. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021 Feb 3:S2468-1253(21)00003-0. PMID: 33548185 Ophira Ginsburg, Partha Basu, Sharon Kapambwe & Karen Canfell. Eliminating cervical cancer in the COVID-19 era. Nature Cancer (2021). Published: 03 February 2021 Tezer Kutluk Mustafa, Ahmed Fahad, Kirazli Meral, Yaman Bajin Inci, Müngen Eren, Ekinci Saniye, Yildiz Ferah (2021) The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on paediatric cancer care: lessons learnt from a major paediatric oncology department in Turkey ecancer 15 1172 Saab, R, Obeid, A, Gachi, F, Boudiaf, H, Sargsyan, L, Al-Saad, K, Javakhadze, T, Mehrvar, A, Abbas, SS, Abed Al-Agele, YS, Al-Haddad, S, Al Ani, MH, Al-Sweedan, S, Al Kofide, A, Jastaniah, W, Khalifa, N, Bechara, E, Baassiri, M, Noun, P, El-Houdzi, J, Khattab, M, Sagar Sharma, K, Wali, Y, Mushtaq, N, Batool, A, Faizan, M, Raza, MR, Najajreh, M, Mohammed Abdallah, MA, Sousan, G, Ghanem, KM, Kocak, U, Kutluk, T, Demir, HA, Hodeish, H, Muwakkit, S, Belgaumi, A, Al-Rawas, A-H, Jeha, S. Impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on pediatric oncology care in the Middle East, North Africa, and West Asia region: A report from the Pediatric Oncology East and Mediterranean (POEM) group. Cancer. 2020: 126: 4235- 4245. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.33075 Fewer cancer diagnoses during the COVID-19 epidemic in the Netherlands. Dinmohamed AG, Visser O, Verhoeven RHA, Louwman MWJ, van Nederveen FH, Willems SM, Merkx MAW, Lemmens VEPP, Nagtegaal ID, Siesling S.Lancet Oncol. 2020 Jun;21(6):750-751. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30265-5. Epub 2020 Apr 30.PMID: 32359403 The impact of the temporary suspension of national cancer screening programmes due to the COVID-19 epidemic on the diagnosis of breast and colorectal cancer in the Netherlands. Dinmohamed AG, Cellamare M, Visser O, de Munck L, Elferink MAG, Westenend PJ, Wesseling J, Broeders MJM, Kuipers EJ, Merkx MAW, Nagtegaal ID, Siesling S.J Hematol Oncol. 2020 Nov 4;13(1):147. doi: 10.1186/s13045-020-00984-1.PMID: 33148289 Russell B, Moss C, Rigg A, Van Hemelrijck M. Covid-19 and treatment with NSAIDs and corticosteroids: should we be limiting their use in the clinical setting? Ecancermedicalsciences (2020): In press. Russell B, Moss C, Rigg A, Hopkins C, Papa S, Van Hemelrijck M. Anosmia and ageusia are emerging as symptoms in patients with COVID-19: What does the current evidence say? Ecancermedicalsciences (2020): In press. Moss C, Dolly S, Russell B, Lei M, Ghosh S, Papa S, Sullivan R, Van Hemelrijck M, Rigg A, on behalf of Guy's Cancer Real World Evidence Programme. One piece of the jigsaw for the cancer recovery strategy: Prevalence of COVID-19 in patients with cancer. Cancer Control (2020): In press. Russell B, Moss C, Papa S, Irshad S, Ross P, Spicer J, Kordasti S, Crawley D, Wylie H, Cahill F, Haire A, Zaki K, Rahman F, Sita-Lumsden A, Josephs D, Enting D, Lei M, Ghosh S, Harrison C, Swampillai A, Saywer E, D'Souza A, Gomberg S, Fileds P, wrench D, Raj K, Gleeson M, Bailey K, Dillon R, Streetly M, Rigg A, Sullivan R, Dolly S, Van Hemelrijck M. Factors affecting COVID-19 outcomes in cancer patients: A first report from Guy's Cancer Centre in London. Frontiers in Oncology (2020): In press. Fox L, Wylie H, Cahill F, Haire A, Green S, Kibaru J, Hartley C, Sullivan R, Van Hemelrijck M. Gender differences in concerns about participating in cancer research during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cancer Control (2021): In press. Spencer-Bowdage S, Russell B, Rigby J, O'Kelly J, Kelly P, Page M, Raw C, Allchorne P, Harper P, Crew J, Kockelbergh R, Knight A, Van Hemelrijck M, Bryan RT. The experience of UK Bladder Cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: A survey-based snaphot. BJUI (2020): In press. Beyer K, Kinsella N, Van Hemelrijck M, Barod R. How does COVID-19 impact treatment decision-making for clinicians in localised kidney cancer? BJUI Compass (2020): In press. Purushotham A, Roberts G, Haire K Dodkins J, Harvey-Jones E, Han L, Rigg A, Twinn C, CS Pramesh, Ranganathan P, Sullivan R, Aggarwal, A. The impact of national non-pharmaceutical interventions ('lockdowns') on the presentation of cancer patients. eCancer 2021: 15 1180 D Chalk, S Robbins, R Kandasamy, K Rush, A Aggarwal, R Sullivan, C Chamberlain. Modelling Palliative and End of Life resource requirements during COVID-19: implications for quality care. BMJ Open 2021 (on line) Lai AG, Pasea L, Banerjee A, et al. Estimated impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer services and excess 1-year mortality in people with cancer and multimorbidity: near real-time data on cancer care, cancer deaths and a population-based cohort study BMJ Open 2020;10:e043828 Hanna T, King WD, Thibodea S, Jalink M, Paulin GA, Harvey-Jones E, O'Sullivan D, Booth C, Sullivan R, Aggarwal A. Mortality due to cancer treatment delay: A systematic review and meta-analysis BMJ 2020;371:m4087 Maringe C, Spicer J, Morris M, Purusthotham A, Nolte E, Sullivan R, Rachet B, Aggarwal A. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer deaths due to delays in diagnosis: a national population-based modelling study Lancet Oncology 2020, 21(8):1023-1034 Kong YC, Sakti VV, Sullivan R, Bhoo-Pathy N. Cancer and COVID-19: economic impact on households in Southeast Asia. Ecancermedicalscience. 2020;14:1134. doi: 10.3332/ecancer.2020.1134. Boufkhed S, Harding R, Kutluk T, Husseini A, Pourghazian N, Shamieh O. What Is the Preparedness and Capacity of Palliative Care Services in Middle-Eastern and North African Countries to Respond to COVID-19? A Rapid Survey. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2021 Feb;61(2):e13-e50. Shamieh O, Richardson K, Abdel-Razeq H, Harding R, Sullivan R, Mansour A. COVID-19-Impact on DNR Orders in the Largest Cancer Center in Jordan. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2020 Aug;60(2):e87-e89. Hamad L, Abdul Sater Z, Kutluck T, Shamieh O, Al Omari A, Fahed Z, Manachi M, Alrubai T, Abboud R, Mukherji D. COVID-19: regional perspectives from oncology centers in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Turkey. https://www.oncology-central.com/in-focus/in-focus-coronavirus/covid-19-regional-perspectives-from-oncology-centers-in-lebanon-syria-iraq-jordan-and-turkey/ Published online 18/May/2020 Bitar N, Kattan J, Kourie HR, Mukherji D, Saghir NE. The Lebanese Society of Medical Oncology (LSMO) statement on the care of patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future Oncol. 2020;16(11):615-617. doi:10.2217/fon-2020-0252 Nnaji Chukwudi A, Moodley Jennifer (2021) Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer diagnosis, treatment and research in African health systems: a review of current evidence and contextual perspectives ecancer 15 1170 Abdul-Sater Zahi, Menassa Marilyne, El Achi Nassim, Abdul-Khalek Rima A, Abu-Sittah Ghassan, Mukherji Deborah (2020) Strengthening capacity for cancer research in conflict settings: key informant insights from the Middle East ecancer 14 1153 Alessy Saleh A, Davies Elizabeth A, Jazieh Abdul-Rahman (2020) Cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic: a perspective from Saudi Arabia ecancer 14 1076 Lombe Dorothy C, Mwaba Catherine K, Msadabwe Susan C, Banda Lewis, Mwale Maurice, Pupwe George, Kamfwa Paul, Kanduza Mulape, Munkupa Harry, Maliti Biemba, Simbeye Kalyoka, Hachizo Pious, Lin Lilie, Chiao Elizabeth, Lishimpi Kennedy (2020) Zambia's National Cancer Centre response to the COVID-19 pandemic-an opportunity for improved care ecancer 14 1051 Yusuf Aasim (2020) Cancer care in the time of COVID-19-a perspective from Pakistan ecancer 14 1026 Dewi LKM, Gatellier L, Sabapathy K, Pramesh CS, Dai M, Huong TT, Gultekin M, Nansalmaa E, Htwe K, Yusuf A, Tahmasebi M, Pradhananga KK, Park JB, Hanapiah S, Sangrajran S, Baral RP, Jayusman AM, Iwata S, Kwek JW, Sengar M, Chinnaswamy G, He J, Tian G, Huyen PT, Thuan TV, Luvsanjodorj B, Myint YY, Chun JY, Han JS, Hwang W, Sari NK, Matsuda T An Asian Perspective of the Management of COVID-19: the Asian National Cancer Centers Alliance Led Regional Comparison Asian Pac J Cancer Care. 2020, 5 (S1), 27-42, DOI 10.31557/APJCC.2020.5.S1.27-42 Lombe D, Phiri M, Msadabwe S. Negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of cervical cancer patients in Zambia. Ecancermedicalscience. 2020;14:ed103. Published 2020 Jul 7. doi:10.3332/ecancer.2020.ed10 Webinars: A series of weekly webinars from the National Cancer Grid of India: https://tmc.gov.in/ncg/index.php/education/covid-webinars A joint Queen's University and King's College London global webinar series: https://www.oncologyeducation.com/events/oncologyeducation-event-videos/international-perspectives-on-covid-19-in-cancer-care Projects: Silver Linings - The study objectives are to: Elicit the changes and innovations in cancer care, grouping them into different themes representing the continuum of cancer care by conducting structured interviews with professionals of varying background. Conduct an electronic-based survey of oncology professionals globally based on the elicited themes to determine the differences and similarities in the silver linings. Highlight the challenges that will prevent these silver linings from being universally applied to support both recovery and future resilience. Health Care Professional Stress and Resilience: Taskforce colleagues in Japan led by Dr Tomohiro Matsuda, with Drs. Narikazu Boku, Rika Nakahara, Masaru Konishi, Asao Ogawa, Tatsuya Suzuki, Yosuke Uchitomi, Maiko Fujimori, Masako Okamura, and Shinichi Goto have nearly completed a major national study. They conducted surveys on stress, resilience and moral distress among cancer health care providers (n=3,764) working in National Cancer Center in Japan. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board and Ethics Committee of NCC, Japan, and was conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Helsinki Declaration. The surveys were done by an electronic questionnaire. Participation was encouraged through an email within the center. The 1 st survey was conducted from Jul. 7 to Jul. 27 2020, by asking theiremotion during the 1 st wave of the epidemic period (April-May) and the 2 nd E-mail based survey was conducted from Oct. 19 to Nov. 6 2020, by asking their current emotion. They compared the Connor-Davidson resilience scale scores, the perceived stress scale scores, and the moral distress thermometer scores between 1st survey (n=566) and 2nd survey (n=336). Statistically significant differences between the two surveys, and by sex and by occupation were found. Work from these national groups will be published and the aim is to then conduct a meta-analysis once national research has been completed. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | COVID-19 and Cancer Global Taskforce |
| Organisation | Hacettepe University |
| Country | Turkey |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The group is led by R4HC-MENA and includes several Co-Investigators. The Covid-19 and Cancer Taskforce is a globally representative group of cancer leaders spanning the disciplines of cancer across the care continuum from prevention, early detection, treatment and palliative, to representatives of cancer centre networks and advocacy groups. A number of publications have been published by R4HC members and wider partners https://covidcancertaskforce.org/taskforce-publications and a number of webinars https://covidcancertaskforce.org/global-webinars |
| Collaborator Contribution | A project led by members of the Task Force, REPRISE, aims to re-examine cancer research priorities in LMICs in this emerging context. The project comprises three work strands. The outputs from these three work strands will feed into a Delphi consensus-making process involving expert individuals that are representative of LMICs in all WHO regions. The Delphi process aims to produce a list of research priorities for LMICs in a 'post-pandemic' environment. The three work strands that will feed into this project are 1) a snapshot survey; 2) a bibliometric analysis; and 3) a literature review. The snapshot survey aims to collect data from cancer research professionals all over the world, to examine what types of disruptions to their work have taken place due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in their country. The results of this snapshot survey have now been collated and will be presented at the AACR COVID-19 and Cancer virtual meeting taking place 3 rd -5 th February 2021. The bibliometric analysis aims to establish a picture of how resources for cancer research have historically been allocated in both high-income countries and in LMICs, examining research domains but also cancer types. The literature review will examine the impacts that the global outbreak of COVID-19 has had on the continuity of cancer research studies and cancer care; and on funding streams for cancer research. These questions will be examined using a qualitative approach that integrates the content from journalistic reports throughout 2020, as well as information obtained from cancer research funders as supplementary information. A number of publications have been published by R4HC members and wider partners https://covidcancertaskforce.org/taskforce-publications and a number of webinars https://covidcancertaskforce.org/global-webinars |
| Impact | de Jonge L, Worthington J, van Wifferen F, Iragorri N, Peterse EFP, Lew JB, Greuter MJE, Smith HA, Feletto E, Yong JHE, Canfell K, Coupé VMH, Lansdorp-Vogelaar I; COVID-19 and Cancer Global Modelling Consortium working group 2. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on faecal immunochemical test-based colorectal cancer screening programmes in Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands: a comparative modelling study. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021 Feb 3:S2468-1253(21)00003-0. PMID: 33548185 Ophira Ginsburg, Partha Basu, Sharon Kapambwe & Karen Canfell. Eliminating cervical cancer in the COVID-19 era. Nature Cancer (2021). Published: 03 February 2021 Tezer Kutluk Mustafa, Ahmed Fahad, Kirazli Meral, Yaman Bajin Inci, Müngen Eren, Ekinci Saniye, Yildiz Ferah (2021) The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on paediatric cancer care: lessons learnt from a major paediatric oncology department in Turkey ecancer 15 1172 Saab, R, Obeid, A, Gachi, F, Boudiaf, H, Sargsyan, L, Al-Saad, K, Javakhadze, T, Mehrvar, A, Abbas, SS, Abed Al-Agele, YS, Al-Haddad, S, Al Ani, MH, Al-Sweedan, S, Al Kofide, A, Jastaniah, W, Khalifa, N, Bechara, E, Baassiri, M, Noun, P, El-Houdzi, J, Khattab, M, Sagar Sharma, K, Wali, Y, Mushtaq, N, Batool, A, Faizan, M, Raza, MR, Najajreh, M, Mohammed Abdallah, MA, Sousan, G, Ghanem, KM, Kocak, U, Kutluk, T, Demir, HA, Hodeish, H, Muwakkit, S, Belgaumi, A, Al-Rawas, A-H, Jeha, S. Impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on pediatric oncology care in the Middle East, North Africa, and West Asia region: A report from the Pediatric Oncology East and Mediterranean (POEM) group. Cancer. 2020: 126: 4235- 4245. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.33075 Fewer cancer diagnoses during the COVID-19 epidemic in the Netherlands. Dinmohamed AG, Visser O, Verhoeven RHA, Louwman MWJ, van Nederveen FH, Willems SM, Merkx MAW, Lemmens VEPP, Nagtegaal ID, Siesling S.Lancet Oncol. 2020 Jun;21(6):750-751. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30265-5. Epub 2020 Apr 30.PMID: 32359403 The impact of the temporary suspension of national cancer screening programmes due to the COVID-19 epidemic on the diagnosis of breast and colorectal cancer in the Netherlands. Dinmohamed AG, Cellamare M, Visser O, de Munck L, Elferink MAG, Westenend PJ, Wesseling J, Broeders MJM, Kuipers EJ, Merkx MAW, Nagtegaal ID, Siesling S.J Hematol Oncol. 2020 Nov 4;13(1):147. doi: 10.1186/s13045-020-00984-1.PMID: 33148289 Russell B, Moss C, Rigg A, Van Hemelrijck M. Covid-19 and treatment with NSAIDs and corticosteroids: should we be limiting their use in the clinical setting? Ecancermedicalsciences (2020): In press. Russell B, Moss C, Rigg A, Hopkins C, Papa S, Van Hemelrijck M. Anosmia and ageusia are emerging as symptoms in patients with COVID-19: What does the current evidence say? Ecancermedicalsciences (2020): In press. Moss C, Dolly S, Russell B, Lei M, Ghosh S, Papa S, Sullivan R, Van Hemelrijck M, Rigg A, on behalf of Guy's Cancer Real World Evidence Programme. One piece of the jigsaw for the cancer recovery strategy: Prevalence of COVID-19 in patients with cancer. Cancer Control (2020): In press. Russell B, Moss C, Papa S, Irshad S, Ross P, Spicer J, Kordasti S, Crawley D, Wylie H, Cahill F, Haire A, Zaki K, Rahman F, Sita-Lumsden A, Josephs D, Enting D, Lei M, Ghosh S, Harrison C, Swampillai A, Saywer E, D'Souza A, Gomberg S, Fileds P, wrench D, Raj K, Gleeson M, Bailey K, Dillon R, Streetly M, Rigg A, Sullivan R, Dolly S, Van Hemelrijck M. Factors affecting COVID-19 outcomes in cancer patients: A first report from Guy's Cancer Centre in London. Frontiers in Oncology (2020): In press. Fox L, Wylie H, Cahill F, Haire A, Green S, Kibaru J, Hartley C, Sullivan R, Van Hemelrijck M. Gender differences in concerns about participating in cancer research during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cancer Control (2021): In press. Spencer-Bowdage S, Russell B, Rigby J, O'Kelly J, Kelly P, Page M, Raw C, Allchorne P, Harper P, Crew J, Kockelbergh R, Knight A, Van Hemelrijck M, Bryan RT. The experience of UK Bladder Cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: A survey-based snaphot. BJUI (2020): In press. Beyer K, Kinsella N, Van Hemelrijck M, Barod R. How does COVID-19 impact treatment decision-making for clinicians in localised kidney cancer? BJUI Compass (2020): In press. Purushotham A, Roberts G, Haire K Dodkins J, Harvey-Jones E, Han L, Rigg A, Twinn C, CS Pramesh, Ranganathan P, Sullivan R, Aggarwal, A. The impact of national non-pharmaceutical interventions ('lockdowns') on the presentation of cancer patients. eCancer 2021: 15 1180 D Chalk, S Robbins, R Kandasamy, K Rush, A Aggarwal, R Sullivan, C Chamberlain. Modelling Palliative and End of Life resource requirements during COVID-19: implications for quality care. BMJ Open 2021 (on line) Lai AG, Pasea L, Banerjee A, et al. Estimated impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer services and excess 1-year mortality in people with cancer and multimorbidity: near real-time data on cancer care, cancer deaths and a population-based cohort study BMJ Open 2020;10:e043828 Hanna T, King WD, Thibodea S, Jalink M, Paulin GA, Harvey-Jones E, O'Sullivan D, Booth C, Sullivan R, Aggarwal A. Mortality due to cancer treatment delay: A systematic review and meta-analysis BMJ 2020;371:m4087 Maringe C, Spicer J, Morris M, Purusthotham A, Nolte E, Sullivan R, Rachet B, Aggarwal A. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer deaths due to delays in diagnosis: a national population-based modelling study Lancet Oncology 2020, 21(8):1023-1034 Kong YC, Sakti VV, Sullivan R, Bhoo-Pathy N. Cancer and COVID-19: economic impact on households in Southeast Asia. Ecancermedicalscience. 2020;14:1134. doi: 10.3332/ecancer.2020.1134. Boufkhed S, Harding R, Kutluk T, Husseini A, Pourghazian N, Shamieh O. What Is the Preparedness and Capacity of Palliative Care Services in Middle-Eastern and North African Countries to Respond to COVID-19? A Rapid Survey. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2021 Feb;61(2):e13-e50. Shamieh O, Richardson K, Abdel-Razeq H, Harding R, Sullivan R, Mansour A. COVID-19-Impact on DNR Orders in the Largest Cancer Center in Jordan. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2020 Aug;60(2):e87-e89. Hamad L, Abdul Sater Z, Kutluck T, Shamieh O, Al Omari A, Fahed Z, Manachi M, Alrubai T, Abboud R, Mukherji D. COVID-19: regional perspectives from oncology centers in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Turkey. https://www.oncology-central.com/in-focus/in-focus-coronavirus/covid-19-regional-perspectives-from-oncology-centers-in-lebanon-syria-iraq-jordan-and-turkey/ Published online 18/May/2020 Bitar N, Kattan J, Kourie HR, Mukherji D, Saghir NE. The Lebanese Society of Medical Oncology (LSMO) statement on the care of patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future Oncol. 2020;16(11):615-617. doi:10.2217/fon-2020-0252 Nnaji Chukwudi A, Moodley Jennifer (2021) Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer diagnosis, treatment and research in African health systems: a review of current evidence and contextual perspectives ecancer 15 1170 Abdul-Sater Zahi, Menassa Marilyne, El Achi Nassim, Abdul-Khalek Rima A, Abu-Sittah Ghassan, Mukherji Deborah (2020) Strengthening capacity for cancer research in conflict settings: key informant insights from the Middle East ecancer 14 1153 Alessy Saleh A, Davies Elizabeth A, Jazieh Abdul-Rahman (2020) Cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic: a perspective from Saudi Arabia ecancer 14 1076 Lombe Dorothy C, Mwaba Catherine K, Msadabwe Susan C, Banda Lewis, Mwale Maurice, Pupwe George, Kamfwa Paul, Kanduza Mulape, Munkupa Harry, Maliti Biemba, Simbeye Kalyoka, Hachizo Pious, Lin Lilie, Chiao Elizabeth, Lishimpi Kennedy (2020) Zambia's National Cancer Centre response to the COVID-19 pandemic-an opportunity for improved care ecancer 14 1051 Yusuf Aasim (2020) Cancer care in the time of COVID-19-a perspective from Pakistan ecancer 14 1026 Dewi LKM, Gatellier L, Sabapathy K, Pramesh CS, Dai M, Huong TT, Gultekin M, Nansalmaa E, Htwe K, Yusuf A, Tahmasebi M, Pradhananga KK, Park JB, Hanapiah S, Sangrajran S, Baral RP, Jayusman AM, Iwata S, Kwek JW, Sengar M, Chinnaswamy G, He J, Tian G, Huyen PT, Thuan TV, Luvsanjodorj B, Myint YY, Chun JY, Han JS, Hwang W, Sari NK, Matsuda T An Asian Perspective of the Management of COVID-19: the Asian National Cancer Centers Alliance Led Regional Comparison Asian Pac J Cancer Care. 2020, 5 (S1), 27-42, DOI 10.31557/APJCC.2020.5.S1.27-42 Lombe D, Phiri M, Msadabwe S. Negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of cervical cancer patients in Zambia. Ecancermedicalscience. 2020;14:ed103. Published 2020 Jul 7. doi:10.3332/ecancer.2020.ed10 Webinars: A series of weekly webinars from the National Cancer Grid of India: https://tmc.gov.in/ncg/index.php/education/covid-webinars A joint Queen's University and King's College London global webinar series: https://www.oncologyeducation.com/events/oncologyeducation-event-videos/international-perspectives-on-covid-19-in-cancer-care Projects: Silver Linings - The study objectives are to: Elicit the changes and innovations in cancer care, grouping them into different themes representing the continuum of cancer care by conducting structured interviews with professionals of varying background. Conduct an electronic-based survey of oncology professionals globally based on the elicited themes to determine the differences and similarities in the silver linings. Highlight the challenges that will prevent these silver linings from being universally applied to support both recovery and future resilience. Health Care Professional Stress and Resilience: Taskforce colleagues in Japan led by Dr Tomohiro Matsuda, with Drs. Narikazu Boku, Rika Nakahara, Masaru Konishi, Asao Ogawa, Tatsuya Suzuki, Yosuke Uchitomi, Maiko Fujimori, Masako Okamura, and Shinichi Goto have nearly completed a major national study. They conducted surveys on stress, resilience and moral distress among cancer health care providers (n=3,764) working in National Cancer Center in Japan. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board and Ethics Committee of NCC, Japan, and was conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Helsinki Declaration. The surveys were done by an electronic questionnaire. Participation was encouraged through an email within the center. The 1 st survey was conducted from Jul. 7 to Jul. 27 2020, by asking theiremotion during the 1 st wave of the epidemic period (April-May) and the 2 nd E-mail based survey was conducted from Oct. 19 to Nov. 6 2020, by asking their current emotion. They compared the Connor-Davidson resilience scale scores, the perceived stress scale scores, and the moral distress thermometer scores between 1st survey (n=566) and 2nd survey (n=336). Statistically significant differences between the two surveys, and by sex and by occupation were found. Work from these national groups will be published and the aim is to then conduct a meta-analysis once national research has been completed. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | COVID-19 and Cancer Global Taskforce |
| Organisation | King Hussein Cancer Center |
| Country | Jordan |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The group is led by R4HC-MENA and includes several Co-Investigators. The Covid-19 and Cancer Taskforce is a globally representative group of cancer leaders spanning the disciplines of cancer across the care continuum from prevention, early detection, treatment and palliative, to representatives of cancer centre networks and advocacy groups. A number of publications have been published by R4HC members and wider partners https://covidcancertaskforce.org/taskforce-publications and a number of webinars https://covidcancertaskforce.org/global-webinars |
| Collaborator Contribution | A project led by members of the Task Force, REPRISE, aims to re-examine cancer research priorities in LMICs in this emerging context. The project comprises three work strands. The outputs from these three work strands will feed into a Delphi consensus-making process involving expert individuals that are representative of LMICs in all WHO regions. The Delphi process aims to produce a list of research priorities for LMICs in a 'post-pandemic' environment. The three work strands that will feed into this project are 1) a snapshot survey; 2) a bibliometric analysis; and 3) a literature review. The snapshot survey aims to collect data from cancer research professionals all over the world, to examine what types of disruptions to their work have taken place due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in their country. The results of this snapshot survey have now been collated and will be presented at the AACR COVID-19 and Cancer virtual meeting taking place 3 rd -5 th February 2021. The bibliometric analysis aims to establish a picture of how resources for cancer research have historically been allocated in both high-income countries and in LMICs, examining research domains but also cancer types. The literature review will examine the impacts that the global outbreak of COVID-19 has had on the continuity of cancer research studies and cancer care; and on funding streams for cancer research. These questions will be examined using a qualitative approach that integrates the content from journalistic reports throughout 2020, as well as information obtained from cancer research funders as supplementary information. A number of publications have been published by R4HC members and wider partners https://covidcancertaskforce.org/taskforce-publications and a number of webinars https://covidcancertaskforce.org/global-webinars |
| Impact | de Jonge L, Worthington J, van Wifferen F, Iragorri N, Peterse EFP, Lew JB, Greuter MJE, Smith HA, Feletto E, Yong JHE, Canfell K, Coupé VMH, Lansdorp-Vogelaar I; COVID-19 and Cancer Global Modelling Consortium working group 2. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on faecal immunochemical test-based colorectal cancer screening programmes in Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands: a comparative modelling study. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021 Feb 3:S2468-1253(21)00003-0. PMID: 33548185 Ophira Ginsburg, Partha Basu, Sharon Kapambwe & Karen Canfell. Eliminating cervical cancer in the COVID-19 era. Nature Cancer (2021). Published: 03 February 2021 Tezer Kutluk Mustafa, Ahmed Fahad, Kirazli Meral, Yaman Bajin Inci, Müngen Eren, Ekinci Saniye, Yildiz Ferah (2021) The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on paediatric cancer care: lessons learnt from a major paediatric oncology department in Turkey ecancer 15 1172 Saab, R, Obeid, A, Gachi, F, Boudiaf, H, Sargsyan, L, Al-Saad, K, Javakhadze, T, Mehrvar, A, Abbas, SS, Abed Al-Agele, YS, Al-Haddad, S, Al Ani, MH, Al-Sweedan, S, Al Kofide, A, Jastaniah, W, Khalifa, N, Bechara, E, Baassiri, M, Noun, P, El-Houdzi, J, Khattab, M, Sagar Sharma, K, Wali, Y, Mushtaq, N, Batool, A, Faizan, M, Raza, MR, Najajreh, M, Mohammed Abdallah, MA, Sousan, G, Ghanem, KM, Kocak, U, Kutluk, T, Demir, HA, Hodeish, H, Muwakkit, S, Belgaumi, A, Al-Rawas, A-H, Jeha, S. Impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on pediatric oncology care in the Middle East, North Africa, and West Asia region: A report from the Pediatric Oncology East and Mediterranean (POEM) group. Cancer. 2020: 126: 4235- 4245. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.33075 Fewer cancer diagnoses during the COVID-19 epidemic in the Netherlands. Dinmohamed AG, Visser O, Verhoeven RHA, Louwman MWJ, van Nederveen FH, Willems SM, Merkx MAW, Lemmens VEPP, Nagtegaal ID, Siesling S.Lancet Oncol. 2020 Jun;21(6):750-751. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30265-5. Epub 2020 Apr 30.PMID: 32359403 The impact of the temporary suspension of national cancer screening programmes due to the COVID-19 epidemic on the diagnosis of breast and colorectal cancer in the Netherlands. Dinmohamed AG, Cellamare M, Visser O, de Munck L, Elferink MAG, Westenend PJ, Wesseling J, Broeders MJM, Kuipers EJ, Merkx MAW, Nagtegaal ID, Siesling S.J Hematol Oncol. 2020 Nov 4;13(1):147. doi: 10.1186/s13045-020-00984-1.PMID: 33148289 Russell B, Moss C, Rigg A, Van Hemelrijck M. Covid-19 and treatment with NSAIDs and corticosteroids: should we be limiting their use in the clinical setting? Ecancermedicalsciences (2020): In press. Russell B, Moss C, Rigg A, Hopkins C, Papa S, Van Hemelrijck M. Anosmia and ageusia are emerging as symptoms in patients with COVID-19: What does the current evidence say? Ecancermedicalsciences (2020): In press. Moss C, Dolly S, Russell B, Lei M, Ghosh S, Papa S, Sullivan R, Van Hemelrijck M, Rigg A, on behalf of Guy's Cancer Real World Evidence Programme. One piece of the jigsaw for the cancer recovery strategy: Prevalence of COVID-19 in patients with cancer. Cancer Control (2020): In press. Russell B, Moss C, Papa S, Irshad S, Ross P, Spicer J, Kordasti S, Crawley D, Wylie H, Cahill F, Haire A, Zaki K, Rahman F, Sita-Lumsden A, Josephs D, Enting D, Lei M, Ghosh S, Harrison C, Swampillai A, Saywer E, D'Souza A, Gomberg S, Fileds P, wrench D, Raj K, Gleeson M, Bailey K, Dillon R, Streetly M, Rigg A, Sullivan R, Dolly S, Van Hemelrijck M. Factors affecting COVID-19 outcomes in cancer patients: A first report from Guy's Cancer Centre in London. Frontiers in Oncology (2020): In press. Fox L, Wylie H, Cahill F, Haire A, Green S, Kibaru J, Hartley C, Sullivan R, Van Hemelrijck M. Gender differences in concerns about participating in cancer research during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cancer Control (2021): In press. Spencer-Bowdage S, Russell B, Rigby J, O'Kelly J, Kelly P, Page M, Raw C, Allchorne P, Harper P, Crew J, Kockelbergh R, Knight A, Van Hemelrijck M, Bryan RT. The experience of UK Bladder Cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: A survey-based snaphot. BJUI (2020): In press. Beyer K, Kinsella N, Van Hemelrijck M, Barod R. How does COVID-19 impact treatment decision-making for clinicians in localised kidney cancer? BJUI Compass (2020): In press. Purushotham A, Roberts G, Haire K Dodkins J, Harvey-Jones E, Han L, Rigg A, Twinn C, CS Pramesh, Ranganathan P, Sullivan R, Aggarwal, A. The impact of national non-pharmaceutical interventions ('lockdowns') on the presentation of cancer patients. eCancer 2021: 15 1180 D Chalk, S Robbins, R Kandasamy, K Rush, A Aggarwal, R Sullivan, C Chamberlain. Modelling Palliative and End of Life resource requirements during COVID-19: implications for quality care. BMJ Open 2021 (on line) Lai AG, Pasea L, Banerjee A, et al. Estimated impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer services and excess 1-year mortality in people with cancer and multimorbidity: near real-time data on cancer care, cancer deaths and a population-based cohort study BMJ Open 2020;10:e043828 Hanna T, King WD, Thibodea S, Jalink M, Paulin GA, Harvey-Jones E, O'Sullivan D, Booth C, Sullivan R, Aggarwal A. Mortality due to cancer treatment delay: A systematic review and meta-analysis BMJ 2020;371:m4087 Maringe C, Spicer J, Morris M, Purusthotham A, Nolte E, Sullivan R, Rachet B, Aggarwal A. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer deaths due to delays in diagnosis: a national population-based modelling study Lancet Oncology 2020, 21(8):1023-1034 Kong YC, Sakti VV, Sullivan R, Bhoo-Pathy N. Cancer and COVID-19: economic impact on households in Southeast Asia. Ecancermedicalscience. 2020;14:1134. doi: 10.3332/ecancer.2020.1134. Boufkhed S, Harding R, Kutluk T, Husseini A, Pourghazian N, Shamieh O. What Is the Preparedness and Capacity of Palliative Care Services in Middle-Eastern and North African Countries to Respond to COVID-19? A Rapid Survey. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2021 Feb;61(2):e13-e50. Shamieh O, Richardson K, Abdel-Razeq H, Harding R, Sullivan R, Mansour A. COVID-19-Impact on DNR Orders in the Largest Cancer Center in Jordan. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2020 Aug;60(2):e87-e89. Hamad L, Abdul Sater Z, Kutluck T, Shamieh O, Al Omari A, Fahed Z, Manachi M, Alrubai T, Abboud R, Mukherji D. COVID-19: regional perspectives from oncology centers in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Turkey. https://www.oncology-central.com/in-focus/in-focus-coronavirus/covid-19-regional-perspectives-from-oncology-centers-in-lebanon-syria-iraq-jordan-and-turkey/ Published online 18/May/2020 Bitar N, Kattan J, Kourie HR, Mukherji D, Saghir NE. The Lebanese Society of Medical Oncology (LSMO) statement on the care of patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future Oncol. 2020;16(11):615-617. doi:10.2217/fon-2020-0252 Nnaji Chukwudi A, Moodley Jennifer (2021) Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer diagnosis, treatment and research in African health systems: a review of current evidence and contextual perspectives ecancer 15 1170 Abdul-Sater Zahi, Menassa Marilyne, El Achi Nassim, Abdul-Khalek Rima A, Abu-Sittah Ghassan, Mukherji Deborah (2020) Strengthening capacity for cancer research in conflict settings: key informant insights from the Middle East ecancer 14 1153 Alessy Saleh A, Davies Elizabeth A, Jazieh Abdul-Rahman (2020) Cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic: a perspective from Saudi Arabia ecancer 14 1076 Lombe Dorothy C, Mwaba Catherine K, Msadabwe Susan C, Banda Lewis, Mwale Maurice, Pupwe George, Kamfwa Paul, Kanduza Mulape, Munkupa Harry, Maliti Biemba, Simbeye Kalyoka, Hachizo Pious, Lin Lilie, Chiao Elizabeth, Lishimpi Kennedy (2020) Zambia's National Cancer Centre response to the COVID-19 pandemic-an opportunity for improved care ecancer 14 1051 Yusuf Aasim (2020) Cancer care in the time of COVID-19-a perspective from Pakistan ecancer 14 1026 Dewi LKM, Gatellier L, Sabapathy K, Pramesh CS, Dai M, Huong TT, Gultekin M, Nansalmaa E, Htwe K, Yusuf A, Tahmasebi M, Pradhananga KK, Park JB, Hanapiah S, Sangrajran S, Baral RP, Jayusman AM, Iwata S, Kwek JW, Sengar M, Chinnaswamy G, He J, Tian G, Huyen PT, Thuan TV, Luvsanjodorj B, Myint YY, Chun JY, Han JS, Hwang W, Sari NK, Matsuda T An Asian Perspective of the Management of COVID-19: the Asian National Cancer Centers Alliance Led Regional Comparison Asian Pac J Cancer Care. 2020, 5 (S1), 27-42, DOI 10.31557/APJCC.2020.5.S1.27-42 Lombe D, Phiri M, Msadabwe S. Negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of cervical cancer patients in Zambia. Ecancermedicalscience. 2020;14:ed103. Published 2020 Jul 7. doi:10.3332/ecancer.2020.ed10 Webinars: A series of weekly webinars from the National Cancer Grid of India: https://tmc.gov.in/ncg/index.php/education/covid-webinars A joint Queen's University and King's College London global webinar series: https://www.oncologyeducation.com/events/oncologyeducation-event-videos/international-perspectives-on-covid-19-in-cancer-care Projects: Silver Linings - The study objectives are to: Elicit the changes and innovations in cancer care, grouping them into different themes representing the continuum of cancer care by conducting structured interviews with professionals of varying background. Conduct an electronic-based survey of oncology professionals globally based on the elicited themes to determine the differences and similarities in the silver linings. Highlight the challenges that will prevent these silver linings from being universally applied to support both recovery and future resilience. Health Care Professional Stress and Resilience: Taskforce colleagues in Japan led by Dr Tomohiro Matsuda, with Drs. Narikazu Boku, Rika Nakahara, Masaru Konishi, Asao Ogawa, Tatsuya Suzuki, Yosuke Uchitomi, Maiko Fujimori, Masako Okamura, and Shinichi Goto have nearly completed a major national study. They conducted surveys on stress, resilience and moral distress among cancer health care providers (n=3,764) working in National Cancer Center in Japan. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board and Ethics Committee of NCC, Japan, and was conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Helsinki Declaration. The surveys were done by an electronic questionnaire. Participation was encouraged through an email within the center. The 1 st survey was conducted from Jul. 7 to Jul. 27 2020, by asking theiremotion during the 1 st wave of the epidemic period (April-May) and the 2 nd E-mail based survey was conducted from Oct. 19 to Nov. 6 2020, by asking their current emotion. They compared the Connor-Davidson resilience scale scores, the perceived stress scale scores, and the moral distress thermometer scores between 1st survey (n=566) and 2nd survey (n=336). Statistically significant differences between the two surveys, and by sex and by occupation were found. Work from these national groups will be published and the aim is to then conduct a meta-analysis once national research has been completed. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | COVID-19 and Cancer Global Taskforce |
| Organisation | King's College London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The group is led by R4HC-MENA and includes several Co-Investigators. The Covid-19 and Cancer Taskforce is a globally representative group of cancer leaders spanning the disciplines of cancer across the care continuum from prevention, early detection, treatment and palliative, to representatives of cancer centre networks and advocacy groups. A number of publications have been published by R4HC members and wider partners https://covidcancertaskforce.org/taskforce-publications and a number of webinars https://covidcancertaskforce.org/global-webinars |
| Collaborator Contribution | A project led by members of the Task Force, REPRISE, aims to re-examine cancer research priorities in LMICs in this emerging context. The project comprises three work strands. The outputs from these three work strands will feed into a Delphi consensus-making process involving expert individuals that are representative of LMICs in all WHO regions. The Delphi process aims to produce a list of research priorities for LMICs in a 'post-pandemic' environment. The three work strands that will feed into this project are 1) a snapshot survey; 2) a bibliometric analysis; and 3) a literature review. The snapshot survey aims to collect data from cancer research professionals all over the world, to examine what types of disruptions to their work have taken place due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in their country. The results of this snapshot survey have now been collated and will be presented at the AACR COVID-19 and Cancer virtual meeting taking place 3 rd -5 th February 2021. The bibliometric analysis aims to establish a picture of how resources for cancer research have historically been allocated in both high-income countries and in LMICs, examining research domains but also cancer types. The literature review will examine the impacts that the global outbreak of COVID-19 has had on the continuity of cancer research studies and cancer care; and on funding streams for cancer research. These questions will be examined using a qualitative approach that integrates the content from journalistic reports throughout 2020, as well as information obtained from cancer research funders as supplementary information. A number of publications have been published by R4HC members and wider partners https://covidcancertaskforce.org/taskforce-publications and a number of webinars https://covidcancertaskforce.org/global-webinars |
| Impact | de Jonge L, Worthington J, van Wifferen F, Iragorri N, Peterse EFP, Lew JB, Greuter MJE, Smith HA, Feletto E, Yong JHE, Canfell K, Coupé VMH, Lansdorp-Vogelaar I; COVID-19 and Cancer Global Modelling Consortium working group 2. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on faecal immunochemical test-based colorectal cancer screening programmes in Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands: a comparative modelling study. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021 Feb 3:S2468-1253(21)00003-0. PMID: 33548185 Ophira Ginsburg, Partha Basu, Sharon Kapambwe & Karen Canfell. Eliminating cervical cancer in the COVID-19 era. Nature Cancer (2021). Published: 03 February 2021 Tezer Kutluk Mustafa, Ahmed Fahad, Kirazli Meral, Yaman Bajin Inci, Müngen Eren, Ekinci Saniye, Yildiz Ferah (2021) The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on paediatric cancer care: lessons learnt from a major paediatric oncology department in Turkey ecancer 15 1172 Saab, R, Obeid, A, Gachi, F, Boudiaf, H, Sargsyan, L, Al-Saad, K, Javakhadze, T, Mehrvar, A, Abbas, SS, Abed Al-Agele, YS, Al-Haddad, S, Al Ani, MH, Al-Sweedan, S, Al Kofide, A, Jastaniah, W, Khalifa, N, Bechara, E, Baassiri, M, Noun, P, El-Houdzi, J, Khattab, M, Sagar Sharma, K, Wali, Y, Mushtaq, N, Batool, A, Faizan, M, Raza, MR, Najajreh, M, Mohammed Abdallah, MA, Sousan, G, Ghanem, KM, Kocak, U, Kutluk, T, Demir, HA, Hodeish, H, Muwakkit, S, Belgaumi, A, Al-Rawas, A-H, Jeha, S. Impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on pediatric oncology care in the Middle East, North Africa, and West Asia region: A report from the Pediatric Oncology East and Mediterranean (POEM) group. Cancer. 2020: 126: 4235- 4245. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.33075 Fewer cancer diagnoses during the COVID-19 epidemic in the Netherlands. Dinmohamed AG, Visser O, Verhoeven RHA, Louwman MWJ, van Nederveen FH, Willems SM, Merkx MAW, Lemmens VEPP, Nagtegaal ID, Siesling S.Lancet Oncol. 2020 Jun;21(6):750-751. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30265-5. Epub 2020 Apr 30.PMID: 32359403 The impact of the temporary suspension of national cancer screening programmes due to the COVID-19 epidemic on the diagnosis of breast and colorectal cancer in the Netherlands. Dinmohamed AG, Cellamare M, Visser O, de Munck L, Elferink MAG, Westenend PJ, Wesseling J, Broeders MJM, Kuipers EJ, Merkx MAW, Nagtegaal ID, Siesling S.J Hematol Oncol. 2020 Nov 4;13(1):147. doi: 10.1186/s13045-020-00984-1.PMID: 33148289 Russell B, Moss C, Rigg A, Van Hemelrijck M. Covid-19 and treatment with NSAIDs and corticosteroids: should we be limiting their use in the clinical setting? Ecancermedicalsciences (2020): In press. Russell B, Moss C, Rigg A, Hopkins C, Papa S, Van Hemelrijck M. Anosmia and ageusia are emerging as symptoms in patients with COVID-19: What does the current evidence say? Ecancermedicalsciences (2020): In press. Moss C, Dolly S, Russell B, Lei M, Ghosh S, Papa S, Sullivan R, Van Hemelrijck M, Rigg A, on behalf of Guy's Cancer Real World Evidence Programme. One piece of the jigsaw for the cancer recovery strategy: Prevalence of COVID-19 in patients with cancer. Cancer Control (2020): In press. Russell B, Moss C, Papa S, Irshad S, Ross P, Spicer J, Kordasti S, Crawley D, Wylie H, Cahill F, Haire A, Zaki K, Rahman F, Sita-Lumsden A, Josephs D, Enting D, Lei M, Ghosh S, Harrison C, Swampillai A, Saywer E, D'Souza A, Gomberg S, Fileds P, wrench D, Raj K, Gleeson M, Bailey K, Dillon R, Streetly M, Rigg A, Sullivan R, Dolly S, Van Hemelrijck M. Factors affecting COVID-19 outcomes in cancer patients: A first report from Guy's Cancer Centre in London. Frontiers in Oncology (2020): In press. Fox L, Wylie H, Cahill F, Haire A, Green S, Kibaru J, Hartley C, Sullivan R, Van Hemelrijck M. Gender differences in concerns about participating in cancer research during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cancer Control (2021): In press. Spencer-Bowdage S, Russell B, Rigby J, O'Kelly J, Kelly P, Page M, Raw C, Allchorne P, Harper P, Crew J, Kockelbergh R, Knight A, Van Hemelrijck M, Bryan RT. The experience of UK Bladder Cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: A survey-based snaphot. BJUI (2020): In press. Beyer K, Kinsella N, Van Hemelrijck M, Barod R. How does COVID-19 impact treatment decision-making for clinicians in localised kidney cancer? BJUI Compass (2020): In press. Purushotham A, Roberts G, Haire K Dodkins J, Harvey-Jones E, Han L, Rigg A, Twinn C, CS Pramesh, Ranganathan P, Sullivan R, Aggarwal, A. The impact of national non-pharmaceutical interventions ('lockdowns') on the presentation of cancer patients. eCancer 2021: 15 1180 D Chalk, S Robbins, R Kandasamy, K Rush, A Aggarwal, R Sullivan, C Chamberlain. Modelling Palliative and End of Life resource requirements during COVID-19: implications for quality care. BMJ Open 2021 (on line) Lai AG, Pasea L, Banerjee A, et al. Estimated impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer services and excess 1-year mortality in people with cancer and multimorbidity: near real-time data on cancer care, cancer deaths and a population-based cohort study BMJ Open 2020;10:e043828 Hanna T, King WD, Thibodea S, Jalink M, Paulin GA, Harvey-Jones E, O'Sullivan D, Booth C, Sullivan R, Aggarwal A. Mortality due to cancer treatment delay: A systematic review and meta-analysis BMJ 2020;371:m4087 Maringe C, Spicer J, Morris M, Purusthotham A, Nolte E, Sullivan R, Rachet B, Aggarwal A. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer deaths due to delays in diagnosis: a national population-based modelling study Lancet Oncology 2020, 21(8):1023-1034 Kong YC, Sakti VV, Sullivan R, Bhoo-Pathy N. Cancer and COVID-19: economic impact on households in Southeast Asia. Ecancermedicalscience. 2020;14:1134. doi: 10.3332/ecancer.2020.1134. Boufkhed S, Harding R, Kutluk T, Husseini A, Pourghazian N, Shamieh O. What Is the Preparedness and Capacity of Palliative Care Services in Middle-Eastern and North African Countries to Respond to COVID-19? A Rapid Survey. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2021 Feb;61(2):e13-e50. Shamieh O, Richardson K, Abdel-Razeq H, Harding R, Sullivan R, Mansour A. COVID-19-Impact on DNR Orders in the Largest Cancer Center in Jordan. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2020 Aug;60(2):e87-e89. Hamad L, Abdul Sater Z, Kutluck T, Shamieh O, Al Omari A, Fahed Z, Manachi M, Alrubai T, Abboud R, Mukherji D. COVID-19: regional perspectives from oncology centers in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Turkey. https://www.oncology-central.com/in-focus/in-focus-coronavirus/covid-19-regional-perspectives-from-oncology-centers-in-lebanon-syria-iraq-jordan-and-turkey/ Published online 18/May/2020 Bitar N, Kattan J, Kourie HR, Mukherji D, Saghir NE. The Lebanese Society of Medical Oncology (LSMO) statement on the care of patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future Oncol. 2020;16(11):615-617. doi:10.2217/fon-2020-0252 Nnaji Chukwudi A, Moodley Jennifer (2021) Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer diagnosis, treatment and research in African health systems: a review of current evidence and contextual perspectives ecancer 15 1170 Abdul-Sater Zahi, Menassa Marilyne, El Achi Nassim, Abdul-Khalek Rima A, Abu-Sittah Ghassan, Mukherji Deborah (2020) Strengthening capacity for cancer research in conflict settings: key informant insights from the Middle East ecancer 14 1153 Alessy Saleh A, Davies Elizabeth A, Jazieh Abdul-Rahman (2020) Cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic: a perspective from Saudi Arabia ecancer 14 1076 Lombe Dorothy C, Mwaba Catherine K, Msadabwe Susan C, Banda Lewis, Mwale Maurice, Pupwe George, Kamfwa Paul, Kanduza Mulape, Munkupa Harry, Maliti Biemba, Simbeye Kalyoka, Hachizo Pious, Lin Lilie, Chiao Elizabeth, Lishimpi Kennedy (2020) Zambia's National Cancer Centre response to the COVID-19 pandemic-an opportunity for improved care ecancer 14 1051 Yusuf Aasim (2020) Cancer care in the time of COVID-19-a perspective from Pakistan ecancer 14 1026 Dewi LKM, Gatellier L, Sabapathy K, Pramesh CS, Dai M, Huong TT, Gultekin M, Nansalmaa E, Htwe K, Yusuf A, Tahmasebi M, Pradhananga KK, Park JB, Hanapiah S, Sangrajran S, Baral RP, Jayusman AM, Iwata S, Kwek JW, Sengar M, Chinnaswamy G, He J, Tian G, Huyen PT, Thuan TV, Luvsanjodorj B, Myint YY, Chun JY, Han JS, Hwang W, Sari NK, Matsuda T An Asian Perspective of the Management of COVID-19: the Asian National Cancer Centers Alliance Led Regional Comparison Asian Pac J Cancer Care. 2020, 5 (S1), 27-42, DOI 10.31557/APJCC.2020.5.S1.27-42 Lombe D, Phiri M, Msadabwe S. Negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of cervical cancer patients in Zambia. Ecancermedicalscience. 2020;14:ed103. Published 2020 Jul 7. doi:10.3332/ecancer.2020.ed10 Webinars: A series of weekly webinars from the National Cancer Grid of India: https://tmc.gov.in/ncg/index.php/education/covid-webinars A joint Queen's University and King's College London global webinar series: https://www.oncologyeducation.com/events/oncologyeducation-event-videos/international-perspectives-on-covid-19-in-cancer-care Projects: Silver Linings - The study objectives are to: Elicit the changes and innovations in cancer care, grouping them into different themes representing the continuum of cancer care by conducting structured interviews with professionals of varying background. Conduct an electronic-based survey of oncology professionals globally based on the elicited themes to determine the differences and similarities in the silver linings. Highlight the challenges that will prevent these silver linings from being universally applied to support both recovery and future resilience. Health Care Professional Stress and Resilience: Taskforce colleagues in Japan led by Dr Tomohiro Matsuda, with Drs. Narikazu Boku, Rika Nakahara, Masaru Konishi, Asao Ogawa, Tatsuya Suzuki, Yosuke Uchitomi, Maiko Fujimori, Masako Okamura, and Shinichi Goto have nearly completed a major national study. They conducted surveys on stress, resilience and moral distress among cancer health care providers (n=3,764) working in National Cancer Center in Japan. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board and Ethics Committee of NCC, Japan, and was conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Helsinki Declaration. The surveys were done by an electronic questionnaire. Participation was encouraged through an email within the center. The 1 st survey was conducted from Jul. 7 to Jul. 27 2020, by asking theiremotion during the 1 st wave of the epidemic period (April-May) and the 2 nd E-mail based survey was conducted from Oct. 19 to Nov. 6 2020, by asking their current emotion. They compared the Connor-Davidson resilience scale scores, the perceived stress scale scores, and the moral distress thermometer scores between 1st survey (n=566) and 2nd survey (n=336). Statistically significant differences between the two surveys, and by sex and by occupation were found. Work from these national groups will be published and the aim is to then conduct a meta-analysis once national research has been completed. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | COVID-19 and Cancer Global Taskforce |
| Organisation | London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The group is led by R4HC-MENA and includes several Co-Investigators. The Covid-19 and Cancer Taskforce is a globally representative group of cancer leaders spanning the disciplines of cancer across the care continuum from prevention, early detection, treatment and palliative, to representatives of cancer centre networks and advocacy groups. A number of publications have been published by R4HC members and wider partners https://covidcancertaskforce.org/taskforce-publications and a number of webinars https://covidcancertaskforce.org/global-webinars |
| Collaborator Contribution | A project led by members of the Task Force, REPRISE, aims to re-examine cancer research priorities in LMICs in this emerging context. The project comprises three work strands. The outputs from these three work strands will feed into a Delphi consensus-making process involving expert individuals that are representative of LMICs in all WHO regions. The Delphi process aims to produce a list of research priorities for LMICs in a 'post-pandemic' environment. The three work strands that will feed into this project are 1) a snapshot survey; 2) a bibliometric analysis; and 3) a literature review. The snapshot survey aims to collect data from cancer research professionals all over the world, to examine what types of disruptions to their work have taken place due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in their country. The results of this snapshot survey have now been collated and will be presented at the AACR COVID-19 and Cancer virtual meeting taking place 3 rd -5 th February 2021. The bibliometric analysis aims to establish a picture of how resources for cancer research have historically been allocated in both high-income countries and in LMICs, examining research domains but also cancer types. The literature review will examine the impacts that the global outbreak of COVID-19 has had on the continuity of cancer research studies and cancer care; and on funding streams for cancer research. These questions will be examined using a qualitative approach that integrates the content from journalistic reports throughout 2020, as well as information obtained from cancer research funders as supplementary information. A number of publications have been published by R4HC members and wider partners https://covidcancertaskforce.org/taskforce-publications and a number of webinars https://covidcancertaskforce.org/global-webinars |
| Impact | de Jonge L, Worthington J, van Wifferen F, Iragorri N, Peterse EFP, Lew JB, Greuter MJE, Smith HA, Feletto E, Yong JHE, Canfell K, Coupé VMH, Lansdorp-Vogelaar I; COVID-19 and Cancer Global Modelling Consortium working group 2. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on faecal immunochemical test-based colorectal cancer screening programmes in Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands: a comparative modelling study. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021 Feb 3:S2468-1253(21)00003-0. PMID: 33548185 Ophira Ginsburg, Partha Basu, Sharon Kapambwe & Karen Canfell. Eliminating cervical cancer in the COVID-19 era. Nature Cancer (2021). Published: 03 February 2021 Tezer Kutluk Mustafa, Ahmed Fahad, Kirazli Meral, Yaman Bajin Inci, Müngen Eren, Ekinci Saniye, Yildiz Ferah (2021) The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on paediatric cancer care: lessons learnt from a major paediatric oncology department in Turkey ecancer 15 1172 Saab, R, Obeid, A, Gachi, F, Boudiaf, H, Sargsyan, L, Al-Saad, K, Javakhadze, T, Mehrvar, A, Abbas, SS, Abed Al-Agele, YS, Al-Haddad, S, Al Ani, MH, Al-Sweedan, S, Al Kofide, A, Jastaniah, W, Khalifa, N, Bechara, E, Baassiri, M, Noun, P, El-Houdzi, J, Khattab, M, Sagar Sharma, K, Wali, Y, Mushtaq, N, Batool, A, Faizan, M, Raza, MR, Najajreh, M, Mohammed Abdallah, MA, Sousan, G, Ghanem, KM, Kocak, U, Kutluk, T, Demir, HA, Hodeish, H, Muwakkit, S, Belgaumi, A, Al-Rawas, A-H, Jeha, S. Impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on pediatric oncology care in the Middle East, North Africa, and West Asia region: A report from the Pediatric Oncology East and Mediterranean (POEM) group. Cancer. 2020: 126: 4235- 4245. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.33075 Fewer cancer diagnoses during the COVID-19 epidemic in the Netherlands. Dinmohamed AG, Visser O, Verhoeven RHA, Louwman MWJ, van Nederveen FH, Willems SM, Merkx MAW, Lemmens VEPP, Nagtegaal ID, Siesling S.Lancet Oncol. 2020 Jun;21(6):750-751. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30265-5. Epub 2020 Apr 30.PMID: 32359403 The impact of the temporary suspension of national cancer screening programmes due to the COVID-19 epidemic on the diagnosis of breast and colorectal cancer in the Netherlands. Dinmohamed AG, Cellamare M, Visser O, de Munck L, Elferink MAG, Westenend PJ, Wesseling J, Broeders MJM, Kuipers EJ, Merkx MAW, Nagtegaal ID, Siesling S.J Hematol Oncol. 2020 Nov 4;13(1):147. doi: 10.1186/s13045-020-00984-1.PMID: 33148289 Russell B, Moss C, Rigg A, Van Hemelrijck M. Covid-19 and treatment with NSAIDs and corticosteroids: should we be limiting their use in the clinical setting? Ecancermedicalsciences (2020): In press. Russell B, Moss C, Rigg A, Hopkins C, Papa S, Van Hemelrijck M. Anosmia and ageusia are emerging as symptoms in patients with COVID-19: What does the current evidence say? Ecancermedicalsciences (2020): In press. Moss C, Dolly S, Russell B, Lei M, Ghosh S, Papa S, Sullivan R, Van Hemelrijck M, Rigg A, on behalf of Guy's Cancer Real World Evidence Programme. One piece of the jigsaw for the cancer recovery strategy: Prevalence of COVID-19 in patients with cancer. Cancer Control (2020): In press. Russell B, Moss C, Papa S, Irshad S, Ross P, Spicer J, Kordasti S, Crawley D, Wylie H, Cahill F, Haire A, Zaki K, Rahman F, Sita-Lumsden A, Josephs D, Enting D, Lei M, Ghosh S, Harrison C, Swampillai A, Saywer E, D'Souza A, Gomberg S, Fileds P, wrench D, Raj K, Gleeson M, Bailey K, Dillon R, Streetly M, Rigg A, Sullivan R, Dolly S, Van Hemelrijck M. Factors affecting COVID-19 outcomes in cancer patients: A first report from Guy's Cancer Centre in London. Frontiers in Oncology (2020): In press. Fox L, Wylie H, Cahill F, Haire A, Green S, Kibaru J, Hartley C, Sullivan R, Van Hemelrijck M. Gender differences in concerns about participating in cancer research during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cancer Control (2021): In press. Spencer-Bowdage S, Russell B, Rigby J, O'Kelly J, Kelly P, Page M, Raw C, Allchorne P, Harper P, Crew J, Kockelbergh R, Knight A, Van Hemelrijck M, Bryan RT. The experience of UK Bladder Cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: A survey-based snaphot. BJUI (2020): In press. Beyer K, Kinsella N, Van Hemelrijck M, Barod R. How does COVID-19 impact treatment decision-making for clinicians in localised kidney cancer? BJUI Compass (2020): In press. Purushotham A, Roberts G, Haire K Dodkins J, Harvey-Jones E, Han L, Rigg A, Twinn C, CS Pramesh, Ranganathan P, Sullivan R, Aggarwal, A. The impact of national non-pharmaceutical interventions ('lockdowns') on the presentation of cancer patients. eCancer 2021: 15 1180 D Chalk, S Robbins, R Kandasamy, K Rush, A Aggarwal, R Sullivan, C Chamberlain. Modelling Palliative and End of Life resource requirements during COVID-19: implications for quality care. BMJ Open 2021 (on line) Lai AG, Pasea L, Banerjee A, et al. Estimated impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer services and excess 1-year mortality in people with cancer and multimorbidity: near real-time data on cancer care, cancer deaths and a population-based cohort study BMJ Open 2020;10:e043828 Hanna T, King WD, Thibodea S, Jalink M, Paulin GA, Harvey-Jones E, O'Sullivan D, Booth C, Sullivan R, Aggarwal A. Mortality due to cancer treatment delay: A systematic review and meta-analysis BMJ 2020;371:m4087 Maringe C, Spicer J, Morris M, Purusthotham A, Nolte E, Sullivan R, Rachet B, Aggarwal A. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer deaths due to delays in diagnosis: a national population-based modelling study Lancet Oncology 2020, 21(8):1023-1034 Kong YC, Sakti VV, Sullivan R, Bhoo-Pathy N. Cancer and COVID-19: economic impact on households in Southeast Asia. Ecancermedicalscience. 2020;14:1134. doi: 10.3332/ecancer.2020.1134. Boufkhed S, Harding R, Kutluk T, Husseini A, Pourghazian N, Shamieh O. What Is the Preparedness and Capacity of Palliative Care Services in Middle-Eastern and North African Countries to Respond to COVID-19? A Rapid Survey. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2021 Feb;61(2):e13-e50. Shamieh O, Richardson K, Abdel-Razeq H, Harding R, Sullivan R, Mansour A. COVID-19-Impact on DNR Orders in the Largest Cancer Center in Jordan. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2020 Aug;60(2):e87-e89. Hamad L, Abdul Sater Z, Kutluck T, Shamieh O, Al Omari A, Fahed Z, Manachi M, Alrubai T, Abboud R, Mukherji D. COVID-19: regional perspectives from oncology centers in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Turkey. https://www.oncology-central.com/in-focus/in-focus-coronavirus/covid-19-regional-perspectives-from-oncology-centers-in-lebanon-syria-iraq-jordan-and-turkey/ Published online 18/May/2020 Bitar N, Kattan J, Kourie HR, Mukherji D, Saghir NE. The Lebanese Society of Medical Oncology (LSMO) statement on the care of patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future Oncol. 2020;16(11):615-617. doi:10.2217/fon-2020-0252 Nnaji Chukwudi A, Moodley Jennifer (2021) Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer diagnosis, treatment and research in African health systems: a review of current evidence and contextual perspectives ecancer 15 1170 Abdul-Sater Zahi, Menassa Marilyne, El Achi Nassim, Abdul-Khalek Rima A, Abu-Sittah Ghassan, Mukherji Deborah (2020) Strengthening capacity for cancer research in conflict settings: key informant insights from the Middle East ecancer 14 1153 Alessy Saleh A, Davies Elizabeth A, Jazieh Abdul-Rahman (2020) Cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic: a perspective from Saudi Arabia ecancer 14 1076 Lombe Dorothy C, Mwaba Catherine K, Msadabwe Susan C, Banda Lewis, Mwale Maurice, Pupwe George, Kamfwa Paul, Kanduza Mulape, Munkupa Harry, Maliti Biemba, Simbeye Kalyoka, Hachizo Pious, Lin Lilie, Chiao Elizabeth, Lishimpi Kennedy (2020) Zambia's National Cancer Centre response to the COVID-19 pandemic-an opportunity for improved care ecancer 14 1051 Yusuf Aasim (2020) Cancer care in the time of COVID-19-a perspective from Pakistan ecancer 14 1026 Dewi LKM, Gatellier L, Sabapathy K, Pramesh CS, Dai M, Huong TT, Gultekin M, Nansalmaa E, Htwe K, Yusuf A, Tahmasebi M, Pradhananga KK, Park JB, Hanapiah S, Sangrajran S, Baral RP, Jayusman AM, Iwata S, Kwek JW, Sengar M, Chinnaswamy G, He J, Tian G, Huyen PT, Thuan TV, Luvsanjodorj B, Myint YY, Chun JY, Han JS, Hwang W, Sari NK, Matsuda T An Asian Perspective of the Management of COVID-19: the Asian National Cancer Centers Alliance Led Regional Comparison Asian Pac J Cancer Care. 2020, 5 (S1), 27-42, DOI 10.31557/APJCC.2020.5.S1.27-42 Lombe D, Phiri M, Msadabwe S. Negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of cervical cancer patients in Zambia. Ecancermedicalscience. 2020;14:ed103. Published 2020 Jul 7. doi:10.3332/ecancer.2020.ed10 Webinars: A series of weekly webinars from the National Cancer Grid of India: https://tmc.gov.in/ncg/index.php/education/covid-webinars A joint Queen's University and King's College London global webinar series: https://www.oncologyeducation.com/events/oncologyeducation-event-videos/international-perspectives-on-covid-19-in-cancer-care Projects: Silver Linings - The study objectives are to: Elicit the changes and innovations in cancer care, grouping them into different themes representing the continuum of cancer care by conducting structured interviews with professionals of varying background. Conduct an electronic-based survey of oncology professionals globally based on the elicited themes to determine the differences and similarities in the silver linings. Highlight the challenges that will prevent these silver linings from being universally applied to support both recovery and future resilience. Health Care Professional Stress and Resilience: Taskforce colleagues in Japan led by Dr Tomohiro Matsuda, with Drs. Narikazu Boku, Rika Nakahara, Masaru Konishi, Asao Ogawa, Tatsuya Suzuki, Yosuke Uchitomi, Maiko Fujimori, Masako Okamura, and Shinichi Goto have nearly completed a major national study. They conducted surveys on stress, resilience and moral distress among cancer health care providers (n=3,764) working in National Cancer Center in Japan. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board and Ethics Committee of NCC, Japan, and was conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Helsinki Declaration. The surveys were done by an electronic questionnaire. Participation was encouraged through an email within the center. The 1 st survey was conducted from Jul. 7 to Jul. 27 2020, by asking theiremotion during the 1 st wave of the epidemic period (April-May) and the 2 nd E-mail based survey was conducted from Oct. 19 to Nov. 6 2020, by asking their current emotion. They compared the Connor-Davidson resilience scale scores, the perceived stress scale scores, and the moral distress thermometer scores between 1st survey (n=566) and 2nd survey (n=336). Statistically significant differences between the two surveys, and by sex and by occupation were found. Work from these national groups will be published and the aim is to then conduct a meta-analysis once national research has been completed. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | COVID-19 and Cancer Global Taskforce |
| Organisation | National Kyushu Cancer Center |
| Country | Japan |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The group is led by R4HC-MENA and includes several Co-Investigators. The Covid-19 and Cancer Taskforce is a globally representative group of cancer leaders spanning the disciplines of cancer across the care continuum from prevention, early detection, treatment and palliative, to representatives of cancer centre networks and advocacy groups. A number of publications have been published by R4HC members and wider partners https://covidcancertaskforce.org/taskforce-publications and a number of webinars https://covidcancertaskforce.org/global-webinars |
| Collaborator Contribution | A project led by members of the Task Force, REPRISE, aims to re-examine cancer research priorities in LMICs in this emerging context. The project comprises three work strands. The outputs from these three work strands will feed into a Delphi consensus-making process involving expert individuals that are representative of LMICs in all WHO regions. The Delphi process aims to produce a list of research priorities for LMICs in a 'post-pandemic' environment. The three work strands that will feed into this project are 1) a snapshot survey; 2) a bibliometric analysis; and 3) a literature review. The snapshot survey aims to collect data from cancer research professionals all over the world, to examine what types of disruptions to their work have taken place due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in their country. The results of this snapshot survey have now been collated and will be presented at the AACR COVID-19 and Cancer virtual meeting taking place 3 rd -5 th February 2021. The bibliometric analysis aims to establish a picture of how resources for cancer research have historically been allocated in both high-income countries and in LMICs, examining research domains but also cancer types. The literature review will examine the impacts that the global outbreak of COVID-19 has had on the continuity of cancer research studies and cancer care; and on funding streams for cancer research. These questions will be examined using a qualitative approach that integrates the content from journalistic reports throughout 2020, as well as information obtained from cancer research funders as supplementary information. A number of publications have been published by R4HC members and wider partners https://covidcancertaskforce.org/taskforce-publications and a number of webinars https://covidcancertaskforce.org/global-webinars |
| Impact | de Jonge L, Worthington J, van Wifferen F, Iragorri N, Peterse EFP, Lew JB, Greuter MJE, Smith HA, Feletto E, Yong JHE, Canfell K, Coupé VMH, Lansdorp-Vogelaar I; COVID-19 and Cancer Global Modelling Consortium working group 2. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on faecal immunochemical test-based colorectal cancer screening programmes in Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands: a comparative modelling study. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021 Feb 3:S2468-1253(21)00003-0. PMID: 33548185 Ophira Ginsburg, Partha Basu, Sharon Kapambwe & Karen Canfell. Eliminating cervical cancer in the COVID-19 era. Nature Cancer (2021). Published: 03 February 2021 Tezer Kutluk Mustafa, Ahmed Fahad, Kirazli Meral, Yaman Bajin Inci, Müngen Eren, Ekinci Saniye, Yildiz Ferah (2021) The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on paediatric cancer care: lessons learnt from a major paediatric oncology department in Turkey ecancer 15 1172 Saab, R, Obeid, A, Gachi, F, Boudiaf, H, Sargsyan, L, Al-Saad, K, Javakhadze, T, Mehrvar, A, Abbas, SS, Abed Al-Agele, YS, Al-Haddad, S, Al Ani, MH, Al-Sweedan, S, Al Kofide, A, Jastaniah, W, Khalifa, N, Bechara, E, Baassiri, M, Noun, P, El-Houdzi, J, Khattab, M, Sagar Sharma, K, Wali, Y, Mushtaq, N, Batool, A, Faizan, M, Raza, MR, Najajreh, M, Mohammed Abdallah, MA, Sousan, G, Ghanem, KM, Kocak, U, Kutluk, T, Demir, HA, Hodeish, H, Muwakkit, S, Belgaumi, A, Al-Rawas, A-H, Jeha, S. Impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on pediatric oncology care in the Middle East, North Africa, and West Asia region: A report from the Pediatric Oncology East and Mediterranean (POEM) group. Cancer. 2020: 126: 4235- 4245. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.33075 Fewer cancer diagnoses during the COVID-19 epidemic in the Netherlands. Dinmohamed AG, Visser O, Verhoeven RHA, Louwman MWJ, van Nederveen FH, Willems SM, Merkx MAW, Lemmens VEPP, Nagtegaal ID, Siesling S.Lancet Oncol. 2020 Jun;21(6):750-751. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30265-5. Epub 2020 Apr 30.PMID: 32359403 The impact of the temporary suspension of national cancer screening programmes due to the COVID-19 epidemic on the diagnosis of breast and colorectal cancer in the Netherlands. Dinmohamed AG, Cellamare M, Visser O, de Munck L, Elferink MAG, Westenend PJ, Wesseling J, Broeders MJM, Kuipers EJ, Merkx MAW, Nagtegaal ID, Siesling S.J Hematol Oncol. 2020 Nov 4;13(1):147. doi: 10.1186/s13045-020-00984-1.PMID: 33148289 Russell B, Moss C, Rigg A, Van Hemelrijck M. Covid-19 and treatment with NSAIDs and corticosteroids: should we be limiting their use in the clinical setting? Ecancermedicalsciences (2020): In press. Russell B, Moss C, Rigg A, Hopkins C, Papa S, Van Hemelrijck M. Anosmia and ageusia are emerging as symptoms in patients with COVID-19: What does the current evidence say? Ecancermedicalsciences (2020): In press. Moss C, Dolly S, Russell B, Lei M, Ghosh S, Papa S, Sullivan R, Van Hemelrijck M, Rigg A, on behalf of Guy's Cancer Real World Evidence Programme. One piece of the jigsaw for the cancer recovery strategy: Prevalence of COVID-19 in patients with cancer. Cancer Control (2020): In press. Russell B, Moss C, Papa S, Irshad S, Ross P, Spicer J, Kordasti S, Crawley D, Wylie H, Cahill F, Haire A, Zaki K, Rahman F, Sita-Lumsden A, Josephs D, Enting D, Lei M, Ghosh S, Harrison C, Swampillai A, Saywer E, D'Souza A, Gomberg S, Fileds P, wrench D, Raj K, Gleeson M, Bailey K, Dillon R, Streetly M, Rigg A, Sullivan R, Dolly S, Van Hemelrijck M. Factors affecting COVID-19 outcomes in cancer patients: A first report from Guy's Cancer Centre in London. Frontiers in Oncology (2020): In press. Fox L, Wylie H, Cahill F, Haire A, Green S, Kibaru J, Hartley C, Sullivan R, Van Hemelrijck M. Gender differences in concerns about participating in cancer research during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cancer Control (2021): In press. Spencer-Bowdage S, Russell B, Rigby J, O'Kelly J, Kelly P, Page M, Raw C, Allchorne P, Harper P, Crew J, Kockelbergh R, Knight A, Van Hemelrijck M, Bryan RT. The experience of UK Bladder Cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: A survey-based snaphot. BJUI (2020): In press. Beyer K, Kinsella N, Van Hemelrijck M, Barod R. How does COVID-19 impact treatment decision-making for clinicians in localised kidney cancer? BJUI Compass (2020): In press. Purushotham A, Roberts G, Haire K Dodkins J, Harvey-Jones E, Han L, Rigg A, Twinn C, CS Pramesh, Ranganathan P, Sullivan R, Aggarwal, A. The impact of national non-pharmaceutical interventions ('lockdowns') on the presentation of cancer patients. eCancer 2021: 15 1180 D Chalk, S Robbins, R Kandasamy, K Rush, A Aggarwal, R Sullivan, C Chamberlain. Modelling Palliative and End of Life resource requirements during COVID-19: implications for quality care. BMJ Open 2021 (on line) Lai AG, Pasea L, Banerjee A, et al. Estimated impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer services and excess 1-year mortality in people with cancer and multimorbidity: near real-time data on cancer care, cancer deaths and a population-based cohort study BMJ Open 2020;10:e043828 Hanna T, King WD, Thibodea S, Jalink M, Paulin GA, Harvey-Jones E, O'Sullivan D, Booth C, Sullivan R, Aggarwal A. Mortality due to cancer treatment delay: A systematic review and meta-analysis BMJ 2020;371:m4087 Maringe C, Spicer J, Morris M, Purusthotham A, Nolte E, Sullivan R, Rachet B, Aggarwal A. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer deaths due to delays in diagnosis: a national population-based modelling study Lancet Oncology 2020, 21(8):1023-1034 Kong YC, Sakti VV, Sullivan R, Bhoo-Pathy N. Cancer and COVID-19: economic impact on households in Southeast Asia. Ecancermedicalscience. 2020;14:1134. doi: 10.3332/ecancer.2020.1134. Boufkhed S, Harding R, Kutluk T, Husseini A, Pourghazian N, Shamieh O. What Is the Preparedness and Capacity of Palliative Care Services in Middle-Eastern and North African Countries to Respond to COVID-19? A Rapid Survey. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2021 Feb;61(2):e13-e50. Shamieh O, Richardson K, Abdel-Razeq H, Harding R, Sullivan R, Mansour A. COVID-19-Impact on DNR Orders in the Largest Cancer Center in Jordan. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2020 Aug;60(2):e87-e89. Hamad L, Abdul Sater Z, Kutluck T, Shamieh O, Al Omari A, Fahed Z, Manachi M, Alrubai T, Abboud R, Mukherji D. COVID-19: regional perspectives from oncology centers in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Turkey. https://www.oncology-central.com/in-focus/in-focus-coronavirus/covid-19-regional-perspectives-from-oncology-centers-in-lebanon-syria-iraq-jordan-and-turkey/ Published online 18/May/2020 Bitar N, Kattan J, Kourie HR, Mukherji D, Saghir NE. The Lebanese Society of Medical Oncology (LSMO) statement on the care of patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future Oncol. 2020;16(11):615-617. doi:10.2217/fon-2020-0252 Nnaji Chukwudi A, Moodley Jennifer (2021) Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer diagnosis, treatment and research in African health systems: a review of current evidence and contextual perspectives ecancer 15 1170 Abdul-Sater Zahi, Menassa Marilyne, El Achi Nassim, Abdul-Khalek Rima A, Abu-Sittah Ghassan, Mukherji Deborah (2020) Strengthening capacity for cancer research in conflict settings: key informant insights from the Middle East ecancer 14 1153 Alessy Saleh A, Davies Elizabeth A, Jazieh Abdul-Rahman (2020) Cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic: a perspective from Saudi Arabia ecancer 14 1076 Lombe Dorothy C, Mwaba Catherine K, Msadabwe Susan C, Banda Lewis, Mwale Maurice, Pupwe George, Kamfwa Paul, Kanduza Mulape, Munkupa Harry, Maliti Biemba, Simbeye Kalyoka, Hachizo Pious, Lin Lilie, Chiao Elizabeth, Lishimpi Kennedy (2020) Zambia's National Cancer Centre response to the COVID-19 pandemic-an opportunity for improved care ecancer 14 1051 Yusuf Aasim (2020) Cancer care in the time of COVID-19-a perspective from Pakistan ecancer 14 1026 Dewi LKM, Gatellier L, Sabapathy K, Pramesh CS, Dai M, Huong TT, Gultekin M, Nansalmaa E, Htwe K, Yusuf A, Tahmasebi M, Pradhananga KK, Park JB, Hanapiah S, Sangrajran S, Baral RP, Jayusman AM, Iwata S, Kwek JW, Sengar M, Chinnaswamy G, He J, Tian G, Huyen PT, Thuan TV, Luvsanjodorj B, Myint YY, Chun JY, Han JS, Hwang W, Sari NK, Matsuda T An Asian Perspective of the Management of COVID-19: the Asian National Cancer Centers Alliance Led Regional Comparison Asian Pac J Cancer Care. 2020, 5 (S1), 27-42, DOI 10.31557/APJCC.2020.5.S1.27-42 Lombe D, Phiri M, Msadabwe S. Negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of cervical cancer patients in Zambia. Ecancermedicalscience. 2020;14:ed103. Published 2020 Jul 7. doi:10.3332/ecancer.2020.ed10 Webinars: A series of weekly webinars from the National Cancer Grid of India: https://tmc.gov.in/ncg/index.php/education/covid-webinars A joint Queen's University and King's College London global webinar series: https://www.oncologyeducation.com/events/oncologyeducation-event-videos/international-perspectives-on-covid-19-in-cancer-care Projects: Silver Linings - The study objectives are to: Elicit the changes and innovations in cancer care, grouping them into different themes representing the continuum of cancer care by conducting structured interviews with professionals of varying background. Conduct an electronic-based survey of oncology professionals globally based on the elicited themes to determine the differences and similarities in the silver linings. Highlight the challenges that will prevent these silver linings from being universally applied to support both recovery and future resilience. Health Care Professional Stress and Resilience: Taskforce colleagues in Japan led by Dr Tomohiro Matsuda, with Drs. Narikazu Boku, Rika Nakahara, Masaru Konishi, Asao Ogawa, Tatsuya Suzuki, Yosuke Uchitomi, Maiko Fujimori, Masako Okamura, and Shinichi Goto have nearly completed a major national study. They conducted surveys on stress, resilience and moral distress among cancer health care providers (n=3,764) working in National Cancer Center in Japan. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board and Ethics Committee of NCC, Japan, and was conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Helsinki Declaration. The surveys were done by an electronic questionnaire. Participation was encouraged through an email within the center. The 1 st survey was conducted from Jul. 7 to Jul. 27 2020, by asking theiremotion during the 1 st wave of the epidemic period (April-May) and the 2 nd E-mail based survey was conducted from Oct. 19 to Nov. 6 2020, by asking their current emotion. They compared the Connor-Davidson resilience scale scores, the perceived stress scale scores, and the moral distress thermometer scores between 1st survey (n=566) and 2nd survey (n=336). Statistically significant differences between the two surveys, and by sex and by occupation were found. Work from these national groups will be published and the aim is to then conduct a meta-analysis once national research has been completed. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | COVID-19 and Cancer Global Taskforce |
| Organisation | Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Sector | Hospitals |
| PI Contribution | The group is led by R4HC-MENA and includes several Co-Investigators. The Covid-19 and Cancer Taskforce is a globally representative group of cancer leaders spanning the disciplines of cancer across the care continuum from prevention, early detection, treatment and palliative, to representatives of cancer centre networks and advocacy groups. A number of publications have been published by R4HC members and wider partners https://covidcancertaskforce.org/taskforce-publications and a number of webinars https://covidcancertaskforce.org/global-webinars |
| Collaborator Contribution | A project led by members of the Task Force, REPRISE, aims to re-examine cancer research priorities in LMICs in this emerging context. The project comprises three work strands. The outputs from these three work strands will feed into a Delphi consensus-making process involving expert individuals that are representative of LMICs in all WHO regions. The Delphi process aims to produce a list of research priorities for LMICs in a 'post-pandemic' environment. The three work strands that will feed into this project are 1) a snapshot survey; 2) a bibliometric analysis; and 3) a literature review. The snapshot survey aims to collect data from cancer research professionals all over the world, to examine what types of disruptions to their work have taken place due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in their country. The results of this snapshot survey have now been collated and will be presented at the AACR COVID-19 and Cancer virtual meeting taking place 3 rd -5 th February 2021. The bibliometric analysis aims to establish a picture of how resources for cancer research have historically been allocated in both high-income countries and in LMICs, examining research domains but also cancer types. The literature review will examine the impacts that the global outbreak of COVID-19 has had on the continuity of cancer research studies and cancer care; and on funding streams for cancer research. These questions will be examined using a qualitative approach that integrates the content from journalistic reports throughout 2020, as well as information obtained from cancer research funders as supplementary information. A number of publications have been published by R4HC members and wider partners https://covidcancertaskforce.org/taskforce-publications and a number of webinars https://covidcancertaskforce.org/global-webinars |
| Impact | de Jonge L, Worthington J, van Wifferen F, Iragorri N, Peterse EFP, Lew JB, Greuter MJE, Smith HA, Feletto E, Yong JHE, Canfell K, Coupé VMH, Lansdorp-Vogelaar I; COVID-19 and Cancer Global Modelling Consortium working group 2. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on faecal immunochemical test-based colorectal cancer screening programmes in Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands: a comparative modelling study. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021 Feb 3:S2468-1253(21)00003-0. PMID: 33548185 Ophira Ginsburg, Partha Basu, Sharon Kapambwe & Karen Canfell. Eliminating cervical cancer in the COVID-19 era. Nature Cancer (2021). Published: 03 February 2021 Tezer Kutluk Mustafa, Ahmed Fahad, Kirazli Meral, Yaman Bajin Inci, Müngen Eren, Ekinci Saniye, Yildiz Ferah (2021) The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on paediatric cancer care: lessons learnt from a major paediatric oncology department in Turkey ecancer 15 1172 Saab, R, Obeid, A, Gachi, F, Boudiaf, H, Sargsyan, L, Al-Saad, K, Javakhadze, T, Mehrvar, A, Abbas, SS, Abed Al-Agele, YS, Al-Haddad, S, Al Ani, MH, Al-Sweedan, S, Al Kofide, A, Jastaniah, W, Khalifa, N, Bechara, E, Baassiri, M, Noun, P, El-Houdzi, J, Khattab, M, Sagar Sharma, K, Wali, Y, Mushtaq, N, Batool, A, Faizan, M, Raza, MR, Najajreh, M, Mohammed Abdallah, MA, Sousan, G, Ghanem, KM, Kocak, U, Kutluk, T, Demir, HA, Hodeish, H, Muwakkit, S, Belgaumi, A, Al-Rawas, A-H, Jeha, S. Impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on pediatric oncology care in the Middle East, North Africa, and West Asia region: A report from the Pediatric Oncology East and Mediterranean (POEM) group. Cancer. 2020: 126: 4235- 4245. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.33075 Fewer cancer diagnoses during the COVID-19 epidemic in the Netherlands. Dinmohamed AG, Visser O, Verhoeven RHA, Louwman MWJ, van Nederveen FH, Willems SM, Merkx MAW, Lemmens VEPP, Nagtegaal ID, Siesling S.Lancet Oncol. 2020 Jun;21(6):750-751. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30265-5. Epub 2020 Apr 30.PMID: 32359403 The impact of the temporary suspension of national cancer screening programmes due to the COVID-19 epidemic on the diagnosis of breast and colorectal cancer in the Netherlands. Dinmohamed AG, Cellamare M, Visser O, de Munck L, Elferink MAG, Westenend PJ, Wesseling J, Broeders MJM, Kuipers EJ, Merkx MAW, Nagtegaal ID, Siesling S.J Hematol Oncol. 2020 Nov 4;13(1):147. doi: 10.1186/s13045-020-00984-1.PMID: 33148289 Russell B, Moss C, Rigg A, Van Hemelrijck M. Covid-19 and treatment with NSAIDs and corticosteroids: should we be limiting their use in the clinical setting? Ecancermedicalsciences (2020): In press. Russell B, Moss C, Rigg A, Hopkins C, Papa S, Van Hemelrijck M. Anosmia and ageusia are emerging as symptoms in patients with COVID-19: What does the current evidence say? Ecancermedicalsciences (2020): In press. Moss C, Dolly S, Russell B, Lei M, Ghosh S, Papa S, Sullivan R, Van Hemelrijck M, Rigg A, on behalf of Guy's Cancer Real World Evidence Programme. One piece of the jigsaw for the cancer recovery strategy: Prevalence of COVID-19 in patients with cancer. Cancer Control (2020): In press. Russell B, Moss C, Papa S, Irshad S, Ross P, Spicer J, Kordasti S, Crawley D, Wylie H, Cahill F, Haire A, Zaki K, Rahman F, Sita-Lumsden A, Josephs D, Enting D, Lei M, Ghosh S, Harrison C, Swampillai A, Saywer E, D'Souza A, Gomberg S, Fileds P, wrench D, Raj K, Gleeson M, Bailey K, Dillon R, Streetly M, Rigg A, Sullivan R, Dolly S, Van Hemelrijck M. Factors affecting COVID-19 outcomes in cancer patients: A first report from Guy's Cancer Centre in London. Frontiers in Oncology (2020): In press. Fox L, Wylie H, Cahill F, Haire A, Green S, Kibaru J, Hartley C, Sullivan R, Van Hemelrijck M. Gender differences in concerns about participating in cancer research during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cancer Control (2021): In press. Spencer-Bowdage S, Russell B, Rigby J, O'Kelly J, Kelly P, Page M, Raw C, Allchorne P, Harper P, Crew J, Kockelbergh R, Knight A, Van Hemelrijck M, Bryan RT. The experience of UK Bladder Cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: A survey-based snaphot. BJUI (2020): In press. Beyer K, Kinsella N, Van Hemelrijck M, Barod R. How does COVID-19 impact treatment decision-making for clinicians in localised kidney cancer? BJUI Compass (2020): In press. Purushotham A, Roberts G, Haire K Dodkins J, Harvey-Jones E, Han L, Rigg A, Twinn C, CS Pramesh, Ranganathan P, Sullivan R, Aggarwal, A. The impact of national non-pharmaceutical interventions ('lockdowns') on the presentation of cancer patients. eCancer 2021: 15 1180 D Chalk, S Robbins, R Kandasamy, K Rush, A Aggarwal, R Sullivan, C Chamberlain. Modelling Palliative and End of Life resource requirements during COVID-19: implications for quality care. BMJ Open 2021 (on line) Lai AG, Pasea L, Banerjee A, et al. Estimated impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer services and excess 1-year mortality in people with cancer and multimorbidity: near real-time data on cancer care, cancer deaths and a population-based cohort study BMJ Open 2020;10:e043828 Hanna T, King WD, Thibodea S, Jalink M, Paulin GA, Harvey-Jones E, O'Sullivan D, Booth C, Sullivan R, Aggarwal A. Mortality due to cancer treatment delay: A systematic review and meta-analysis BMJ 2020;371:m4087 Maringe C, Spicer J, Morris M, Purusthotham A, Nolte E, Sullivan R, Rachet B, Aggarwal A. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer deaths due to delays in diagnosis: a national population-based modelling study Lancet Oncology 2020, 21(8):1023-1034 Kong YC, Sakti VV, Sullivan R, Bhoo-Pathy N. Cancer and COVID-19: economic impact on households in Southeast Asia. Ecancermedicalscience. 2020;14:1134. doi: 10.3332/ecancer.2020.1134. Boufkhed S, Harding R, Kutluk T, Husseini A, Pourghazian N, Shamieh O. What Is the Preparedness and Capacity of Palliative Care Services in Middle-Eastern and North African Countries to Respond to COVID-19? A Rapid Survey. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2021 Feb;61(2):e13-e50. Shamieh O, Richardson K, Abdel-Razeq H, Harding R, Sullivan R, Mansour A. COVID-19-Impact on DNR Orders in the Largest Cancer Center in Jordan. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2020 Aug;60(2):e87-e89. Hamad L, Abdul Sater Z, Kutluck T, Shamieh O, Al Omari A, Fahed Z, Manachi M, Alrubai T, Abboud R, Mukherji D. COVID-19: regional perspectives from oncology centers in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Turkey. https://www.oncology-central.com/in-focus/in-focus-coronavirus/covid-19-regional-perspectives-from-oncology-centers-in-lebanon-syria-iraq-jordan-and-turkey/ Published online 18/May/2020 Bitar N, Kattan J, Kourie HR, Mukherji D, Saghir NE. The Lebanese Society of Medical Oncology (LSMO) statement on the care of patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future Oncol. 2020;16(11):615-617. doi:10.2217/fon-2020-0252 Nnaji Chukwudi A, Moodley Jennifer (2021) Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer diagnosis, treatment and research in African health systems: a review of current evidence and contextual perspectives ecancer 15 1170 Abdul-Sater Zahi, Menassa Marilyne, El Achi Nassim, Abdul-Khalek Rima A, Abu-Sittah Ghassan, Mukherji Deborah (2020) Strengthening capacity for cancer research in conflict settings: key informant insights from the Middle East ecancer 14 1153 Alessy Saleh A, Davies Elizabeth A, Jazieh Abdul-Rahman (2020) Cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic: a perspective from Saudi Arabia ecancer 14 1076 Lombe Dorothy C, Mwaba Catherine K, Msadabwe Susan C, Banda Lewis, Mwale Maurice, Pupwe George, Kamfwa Paul, Kanduza Mulape, Munkupa Harry, Maliti Biemba, Simbeye Kalyoka, Hachizo Pious, Lin Lilie, Chiao Elizabeth, Lishimpi Kennedy (2020) Zambia's National Cancer Centre response to the COVID-19 pandemic-an opportunity for improved care ecancer 14 1051 Yusuf Aasim (2020) Cancer care in the time of COVID-19-a perspective from Pakistan ecancer 14 1026 Dewi LKM, Gatellier L, Sabapathy K, Pramesh CS, Dai M, Huong TT, Gultekin M, Nansalmaa E, Htwe K, Yusuf A, Tahmasebi M, Pradhananga KK, Park JB, Hanapiah S, Sangrajran S, Baral RP, Jayusman AM, Iwata S, Kwek JW, Sengar M, Chinnaswamy G, He J, Tian G, Huyen PT, Thuan TV, Luvsanjodorj B, Myint YY, Chun JY, Han JS, Hwang W, Sari NK, Matsuda T An Asian Perspective of the Management of COVID-19: the Asian National Cancer Centers Alliance Led Regional Comparison Asian Pac J Cancer Care. 2020, 5 (S1), 27-42, DOI 10.31557/APJCC.2020.5.S1.27-42 Lombe D, Phiri M, Msadabwe S. Negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of cervical cancer patients in Zambia. Ecancermedicalscience. 2020;14:ed103. Published 2020 Jul 7. doi:10.3332/ecancer.2020.ed10 Webinars: A series of weekly webinars from the National Cancer Grid of India: https://tmc.gov.in/ncg/index.php/education/covid-webinars A joint Queen's University and King's College London global webinar series: https://www.oncologyeducation.com/events/oncologyeducation-event-videos/international-perspectives-on-covid-19-in-cancer-care Projects: Silver Linings - The study objectives are to: Elicit the changes and innovations in cancer care, grouping them into different themes representing the continuum of cancer care by conducting structured interviews with professionals of varying background. Conduct an electronic-based survey of oncology professionals globally based on the elicited themes to determine the differences and similarities in the silver linings. Highlight the challenges that will prevent these silver linings from being universally applied to support both recovery and future resilience. Health Care Professional Stress and Resilience: Taskforce colleagues in Japan led by Dr Tomohiro Matsuda, with Drs. Narikazu Boku, Rika Nakahara, Masaru Konishi, Asao Ogawa, Tatsuya Suzuki, Yosuke Uchitomi, Maiko Fujimori, Masako Okamura, and Shinichi Goto have nearly completed a major national study. They conducted surveys on stress, resilience and moral distress among cancer health care providers (n=3,764) working in National Cancer Center in Japan. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board and Ethics Committee of NCC, Japan, and was conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Helsinki Declaration. The surveys were done by an electronic questionnaire. Participation was encouraged through an email within the center. The 1 st survey was conducted from Jul. 7 to Jul. 27 2020, by asking theiremotion during the 1 st wave of the epidemic period (April-May) and the 2 nd E-mail based survey was conducted from Oct. 19 to Nov. 6 2020, by asking their current emotion. They compared the Connor-Davidson resilience scale scores, the perceived stress scale scores, and the moral distress thermometer scores between 1st survey (n=566) and 2nd survey (n=336). Statistically significant differences between the two surveys, and by sex and by occupation were found. Work from these national groups will be published and the aim is to then conduct a meta-analysis once national research has been completed. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | COVID-19 and Cancer Global Taskforce |
| Organisation | World Health Organization (WHO) |
| Country | Global |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | The group is led by R4HC-MENA and includes several Co-Investigators. The Covid-19 and Cancer Taskforce is a globally representative group of cancer leaders spanning the disciplines of cancer across the care continuum from prevention, early detection, treatment and palliative, to representatives of cancer centre networks and advocacy groups. A number of publications have been published by R4HC members and wider partners https://covidcancertaskforce.org/taskforce-publications and a number of webinars https://covidcancertaskforce.org/global-webinars |
| Collaborator Contribution | A project led by members of the Task Force, REPRISE, aims to re-examine cancer research priorities in LMICs in this emerging context. The project comprises three work strands. The outputs from these three work strands will feed into a Delphi consensus-making process involving expert individuals that are representative of LMICs in all WHO regions. The Delphi process aims to produce a list of research priorities for LMICs in a 'post-pandemic' environment. The three work strands that will feed into this project are 1) a snapshot survey; 2) a bibliometric analysis; and 3) a literature review. The snapshot survey aims to collect data from cancer research professionals all over the world, to examine what types of disruptions to their work have taken place due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in their country. The results of this snapshot survey have now been collated and will be presented at the AACR COVID-19 and Cancer virtual meeting taking place 3 rd -5 th February 2021. The bibliometric analysis aims to establish a picture of how resources for cancer research have historically been allocated in both high-income countries and in LMICs, examining research domains but also cancer types. The literature review will examine the impacts that the global outbreak of COVID-19 has had on the continuity of cancer research studies and cancer care; and on funding streams for cancer research. These questions will be examined using a qualitative approach that integrates the content from journalistic reports throughout 2020, as well as information obtained from cancer research funders as supplementary information. A number of publications have been published by R4HC members and wider partners https://covidcancertaskforce.org/taskforce-publications and a number of webinars https://covidcancertaskforce.org/global-webinars |
| Impact | de Jonge L, Worthington J, van Wifferen F, Iragorri N, Peterse EFP, Lew JB, Greuter MJE, Smith HA, Feletto E, Yong JHE, Canfell K, Coupé VMH, Lansdorp-Vogelaar I; COVID-19 and Cancer Global Modelling Consortium working group 2. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on faecal immunochemical test-based colorectal cancer screening programmes in Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands: a comparative modelling study. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021 Feb 3:S2468-1253(21)00003-0. PMID: 33548185 Ophira Ginsburg, Partha Basu, Sharon Kapambwe & Karen Canfell. Eliminating cervical cancer in the COVID-19 era. Nature Cancer (2021). Published: 03 February 2021 Tezer Kutluk Mustafa, Ahmed Fahad, Kirazli Meral, Yaman Bajin Inci, Müngen Eren, Ekinci Saniye, Yildiz Ferah (2021) The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on paediatric cancer care: lessons learnt from a major paediatric oncology department in Turkey ecancer 15 1172 Saab, R, Obeid, A, Gachi, F, Boudiaf, H, Sargsyan, L, Al-Saad, K, Javakhadze, T, Mehrvar, A, Abbas, SS, Abed Al-Agele, YS, Al-Haddad, S, Al Ani, MH, Al-Sweedan, S, Al Kofide, A, Jastaniah, W, Khalifa, N, Bechara, E, Baassiri, M, Noun, P, El-Houdzi, J, Khattab, M, Sagar Sharma, K, Wali, Y, Mushtaq, N, Batool, A, Faizan, M, Raza, MR, Najajreh, M, Mohammed Abdallah, MA, Sousan, G, Ghanem, KM, Kocak, U, Kutluk, T, Demir, HA, Hodeish, H, Muwakkit, S, Belgaumi, A, Al-Rawas, A-H, Jeha, S. Impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on pediatric oncology care in the Middle East, North Africa, and West Asia region: A report from the Pediatric Oncology East and Mediterranean (POEM) group. Cancer. 2020: 126: 4235- 4245. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.33075 Fewer cancer diagnoses during the COVID-19 epidemic in the Netherlands. Dinmohamed AG, Visser O, Verhoeven RHA, Louwman MWJ, van Nederveen FH, Willems SM, Merkx MAW, Lemmens VEPP, Nagtegaal ID, Siesling S.Lancet Oncol. 2020 Jun;21(6):750-751. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30265-5. Epub 2020 Apr 30.PMID: 32359403 The impact of the temporary suspension of national cancer screening programmes due to the COVID-19 epidemic on the diagnosis of breast and colorectal cancer in the Netherlands. Dinmohamed AG, Cellamare M, Visser O, de Munck L, Elferink MAG, Westenend PJ, Wesseling J, Broeders MJM, Kuipers EJ, Merkx MAW, Nagtegaal ID, Siesling S.J Hematol Oncol. 2020 Nov 4;13(1):147. doi: 10.1186/s13045-020-00984-1.PMID: 33148289 Russell B, Moss C, Rigg A, Van Hemelrijck M. Covid-19 and treatment with NSAIDs and corticosteroids: should we be limiting their use in the clinical setting? Ecancermedicalsciences (2020): In press. Russell B, Moss C, Rigg A, Hopkins C, Papa S, Van Hemelrijck M. Anosmia and ageusia are emerging as symptoms in patients with COVID-19: What does the current evidence say? Ecancermedicalsciences (2020): In press. Moss C, Dolly S, Russell B, Lei M, Ghosh S, Papa S, Sullivan R, Van Hemelrijck M, Rigg A, on behalf of Guy's Cancer Real World Evidence Programme. One piece of the jigsaw for the cancer recovery strategy: Prevalence of COVID-19 in patients with cancer. Cancer Control (2020): In press. Russell B, Moss C, Papa S, Irshad S, Ross P, Spicer J, Kordasti S, Crawley D, Wylie H, Cahill F, Haire A, Zaki K, Rahman F, Sita-Lumsden A, Josephs D, Enting D, Lei M, Ghosh S, Harrison C, Swampillai A, Saywer E, D'Souza A, Gomberg S, Fileds P, wrench D, Raj K, Gleeson M, Bailey K, Dillon R, Streetly M, Rigg A, Sullivan R, Dolly S, Van Hemelrijck M. Factors affecting COVID-19 outcomes in cancer patients: A first report from Guy's Cancer Centre in London. Frontiers in Oncology (2020): In press. Fox L, Wylie H, Cahill F, Haire A, Green S, Kibaru J, Hartley C, Sullivan R, Van Hemelrijck M. Gender differences in concerns about participating in cancer research during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cancer Control (2021): In press. Spencer-Bowdage S, Russell B, Rigby J, O'Kelly J, Kelly P, Page M, Raw C, Allchorne P, Harper P, Crew J, Kockelbergh R, Knight A, Van Hemelrijck M, Bryan RT. The experience of UK Bladder Cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: A survey-based snaphot. BJUI (2020): In press. Beyer K, Kinsella N, Van Hemelrijck M, Barod R. How does COVID-19 impact treatment decision-making for clinicians in localised kidney cancer? BJUI Compass (2020): In press. Purushotham A, Roberts G, Haire K Dodkins J, Harvey-Jones E, Han L, Rigg A, Twinn C, CS Pramesh, Ranganathan P, Sullivan R, Aggarwal, A. The impact of national non-pharmaceutical interventions ('lockdowns') on the presentation of cancer patients. eCancer 2021: 15 1180 D Chalk, S Robbins, R Kandasamy, K Rush, A Aggarwal, R Sullivan, C Chamberlain. Modelling Palliative and End of Life resource requirements during COVID-19: implications for quality care. BMJ Open 2021 (on line) Lai AG, Pasea L, Banerjee A, et al. Estimated impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer services and excess 1-year mortality in people with cancer and multimorbidity: near real-time data on cancer care, cancer deaths and a population-based cohort study BMJ Open 2020;10:e043828 Hanna T, King WD, Thibodea S, Jalink M, Paulin GA, Harvey-Jones E, O'Sullivan D, Booth C, Sullivan R, Aggarwal A. Mortality due to cancer treatment delay: A systematic review and meta-analysis BMJ 2020;371:m4087 Maringe C, Spicer J, Morris M, Purusthotham A, Nolte E, Sullivan R, Rachet B, Aggarwal A. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer deaths due to delays in diagnosis: a national population-based modelling study Lancet Oncology 2020, 21(8):1023-1034 Kong YC, Sakti VV, Sullivan R, Bhoo-Pathy N. Cancer and COVID-19: economic impact on households in Southeast Asia. Ecancermedicalscience. 2020;14:1134. doi: 10.3332/ecancer.2020.1134. Boufkhed S, Harding R, Kutluk T, Husseini A, Pourghazian N, Shamieh O. What Is the Preparedness and Capacity of Palliative Care Services in Middle-Eastern and North African Countries to Respond to COVID-19? A Rapid Survey. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2021 Feb;61(2):e13-e50. Shamieh O, Richardson K, Abdel-Razeq H, Harding R, Sullivan R, Mansour A. COVID-19-Impact on DNR Orders in the Largest Cancer Center in Jordan. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2020 Aug;60(2):e87-e89. Hamad L, Abdul Sater Z, Kutluck T, Shamieh O, Al Omari A, Fahed Z, Manachi M, Alrubai T, Abboud R, Mukherji D. COVID-19: regional perspectives from oncology centers in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Turkey. https://www.oncology-central.com/in-focus/in-focus-coronavirus/covid-19-regional-perspectives-from-oncology-centers-in-lebanon-syria-iraq-jordan-and-turkey/ Published online 18/May/2020 Bitar N, Kattan J, Kourie HR, Mukherji D, Saghir NE. The Lebanese Society of Medical Oncology (LSMO) statement on the care of patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future Oncol. 2020;16(11):615-617. doi:10.2217/fon-2020-0252 Nnaji Chukwudi A, Moodley Jennifer (2021) Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer diagnosis, treatment and research in African health systems: a review of current evidence and contextual perspectives ecancer 15 1170 Abdul-Sater Zahi, Menassa Marilyne, El Achi Nassim, Abdul-Khalek Rima A, Abu-Sittah Ghassan, Mukherji Deborah (2020) Strengthening capacity for cancer research in conflict settings: key informant insights from the Middle East ecancer 14 1153 Alessy Saleh A, Davies Elizabeth A, Jazieh Abdul-Rahman (2020) Cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic: a perspective from Saudi Arabia ecancer 14 1076 Lombe Dorothy C, Mwaba Catherine K, Msadabwe Susan C, Banda Lewis, Mwale Maurice, Pupwe George, Kamfwa Paul, Kanduza Mulape, Munkupa Harry, Maliti Biemba, Simbeye Kalyoka, Hachizo Pious, Lin Lilie, Chiao Elizabeth, Lishimpi Kennedy (2020) Zambia's National Cancer Centre response to the COVID-19 pandemic-an opportunity for improved care ecancer 14 1051 Yusuf Aasim (2020) Cancer care in the time of COVID-19-a perspective from Pakistan ecancer 14 1026 Dewi LKM, Gatellier L, Sabapathy K, Pramesh CS, Dai M, Huong TT, Gultekin M, Nansalmaa E, Htwe K, Yusuf A, Tahmasebi M, Pradhananga KK, Park JB, Hanapiah S, Sangrajran S, Baral RP, Jayusman AM, Iwata S, Kwek JW, Sengar M, Chinnaswamy G, He J, Tian G, Huyen PT, Thuan TV, Luvsanjodorj B, Myint YY, Chun JY, Han JS, Hwang W, Sari NK, Matsuda T An Asian Perspective of the Management of COVID-19: the Asian National Cancer Centers Alliance Led Regional Comparison Asian Pac J Cancer Care. 2020, 5 (S1), 27-42, DOI 10.31557/APJCC.2020.5.S1.27-42 Lombe D, Phiri M, Msadabwe S. Negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of cervical cancer patients in Zambia. Ecancermedicalscience. 2020;14:ed103. Published 2020 Jul 7. doi:10.3332/ecancer.2020.ed10 Webinars: A series of weekly webinars from the National Cancer Grid of India: https://tmc.gov.in/ncg/index.php/education/covid-webinars A joint Queen's University and King's College London global webinar series: https://www.oncologyeducation.com/events/oncologyeducation-event-videos/international-perspectives-on-covid-19-in-cancer-care Projects: Silver Linings - The study objectives are to: Elicit the changes and innovations in cancer care, grouping them into different themes representing the continuum of cancer care by conducting structured interviews with professionals of varying background. Conduct an electronic-based survey of oncology professionals globally based on the elicited themes to determine the differences and similarities in the silver linings. Highlight the challenges that will prevent these silver linings from being universally applied to support both recovery and future resilience. Health Care Professional Stress and Resilience: Taskforce colleagues in Japan led by Dr Tomohiro Matsuda, with Drs. Narikazu Boku, Rika Nakahara, Masaru Konishi, Asao Ogawa, Tatsuya Suzuki, Yosuke Uchitomi, Maiko Fujimori, Masako Okamura, and Shinichi Goto have nearly completed a major national study. They conducted surveys on stress, resilience and moral distress among cancer health care providers (n=3,764) working in National Cancer Center in Japan. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board and Ethics Committee of NCC, Japan, and was conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Helsinki Declaration. The surveys were done by an electronic questionnaire. Participation was encouraged through an email within the center. The 1 st survey was conducted from Jul. 7 to Jul. 27 2020, by asking theiremotion during the 1 st wave of the epidemic period (April-May) and the 2 nd E-mail based survey was conducted from Oct. 19 to Nov. 6 2020, by asking their current emotion. They compared the Connor-Davidson resilience scale scores, the perceived stress scale scores, and the moral distress thermometer scores between 1st survey (n=566) and 2nd survey (n=336). Statistically significant differences between the two surveys, and by sex and by occupation were found. Work from these national groups will be published and the aim is to then conduct a meta-analysis once national research has been completed. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | CSaP Policy Fellows |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | In 2018 seven Policy Fellows from the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region were nominated by some of the R4HC-MENA co-investigators and partners and they committed to spend time visiting the UK to explore health policy questions that would benefit from academic input. R4HC provided the funding for this activity to take place. In 2019, five policy fellows participated in the programme https://r4hc-mena.org/2020/04/10/3127/ |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP) at the University of Cambridge worked with R4HC-MENA to support seven Policy Fellows throughout two-year Fellowships which they pursue alongside their main jobs. CSaP is currently evaluating feedback from the initial meetings during this first pilot of the R4HC Policy Fellowship programme, and suggesting ways to take forward some of the connections made. |
| Impact | The interdisciplinary nature of the researchers that the Policy Fellows met was valued: expertise was provided from varied fields including oncology, palliative care, mental health, health economics, sociology, political science and more. Organisations including Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, and the World Health Organization (Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office) also participated in this knowledge exchange programme with R4HC Policy Fellows. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Conflict and Health Course King's College London |
| Organisation | American University of Beirut |
| Country | Lebanon |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | R4HC-MENA Co-Investigators and Research Associates at King's College London implement the Conflict and Health masters course |
| Collaborator Contribution | Two guest lecturers from the American University of Beirut through the R4HC partnership have taken lectures during this course. |
| Impact | Cross collaboration within the conflict and health course for R4HC members and Masters students to learn from a range of lecturers within the UK and MENA region. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | International Medical Corps (IMC) |
| Organisation | International Medical Corps |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | A capacity-building collaboration between Global Mental Health Lab and IMC was pursued to address the mental health needs around recent post-blast and COVID-related increases in levels of depression and post-traumatic reactions among the Syrian refugees and Lebanese host communities. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Joint collaboration |
| Impact | A capacity-building collaboration between Global Mental Health Lab and IMC was pursued to address the mental health needs around recent post-blast and COVID-related increases in levels of depression and post-traumatic reactions among the Syrian refugees and Lebanese host communities. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) NIHR Collaboration |
| Organisation | National Institute for Health Research |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | The aim of the NIHR funded project is to scale the capacity and service offerings to (a) develop locally adapted and sustainable models of Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) for women with postpartum depression, which would be integrated into the existing community and healthcare landscapes, and (b) evaluate effectiveness in improving child development outcomes and attachment between mother and child. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Working in joint collaboration to develop and evaluate the IPT models |
| Impact | The first phase of the project to identify local needs, map care pathways and identify barriers to treatment delivery is now underway. Theory of Change (TOC) workshops were held in February with members of the trial investigators team to map local needs and resources, in order to pinpoint pathways to and indicators of project goals. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Medical Ethics Education and Training Tools for Crisis Zones |
| Organisation | King's College London |
| Department | Centre for Military Ethics |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Administrative support to undertake fieldwork necessary to further develop the Military Ethics Education Playing Cards. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Field work to refine and expand the existing Military Ethics Education Playing Cards and their linked online resources by researching and developing a new training and education resource specifically designed for health care professionals deployed in conflict, post conflict and humanitarian disaster relief environments. |
| Impact | Development of playing cards. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Partnering Cities for More Secure Healthcare |
| Organisation | International Committee of the Red Cross |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Undertaking a desk-review, key informant interviews and analyse findings. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Meeting hosted by the ICRC at beginning of project, further meeting in London to present findings and collaborate further. |
| Impact | Literature review and interviews with experts in healthcare, violence, urban planners across various sectors - academia, government, local government. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Qualitative Research Methods for Palliative Care |
| Organisation | King Hussein Medical Center |
| Country | Jordan |
| Sector | Hospitals |
| PI Contribution | The KCL team developing and implementing this collaborative course included Professor Richard Harding and Dr Ping Guo. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The team from King Hussein Cancer Centre, included Professor Omar Shamieh. Additionally, the King Hussein Cancer Centre provided the facilities for this course |
| Impact | This collaboration is Phase I of the Palliative Care team's study exploring the palliative needs and experiences of those with advanced cancer, including refugees in Jordan.This collaboration included a multidisciplinary team from KCL, KHCC and Al Bashir Hospital. The training was interactive and focused on: the purpose of qualitative research; theoretical underpinnings; good interviewing practice; the SOP of the study; role plays on interviewing techniques; data storage and management. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Research Methods for Mental Health in War and Conflict at Birzeit University - Intensive Short Course |
| Organisation | Birzeit University |
| Country | Palestine, State of |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The course was jointly taught and certified by the Institute of Community & Public Health (ICPH), Birzeit University and King's College London (KCL) with the aim to equip course participants with up-to-date qualitative and quantitative research skills. The course was team-taught by experienced researchers, including from KCL Hanna Kienzler and Nancy Tamimi |
| Collaborator Contribution | The course was jointly taught and certified by the Institute of Community & Public Health (ICPH), Birzeit University and King's College London (KCL) with the aim to equip course participants with up-to-date qualitative and quantitative research skills.The course was implemented at the Institute of Community & Public Health (ICPH), Birzeit University. The course was team-taught by experienced researchers, including from BZU, Rita Giacaman, Weeam Hammoudeh and Abudllatif Husseini. |
| Impact | Participants of the course involved a group of 28 mental health workers, administrators and researchers working for institutions as diverse as the Ministry of Health, the Palestinian Counselling Centre, Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre for Victims of Torture, UNRWA, MSF and various universities among others. The course was theory-led, however, participants were given ample opportunities to apply concepts and techniques via practical and interactive activities, including a small research project and presentation focusing on the concept of uncertainty and its impact on mental health and well-being. Participants designed, conducted and disseminated the findings of qualitative and quantitative research projects. An infographic training manual was developed as part of the course. Participants were trained in it as a more creative approach to data dissemination to communities/wider public. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Research Methods for Mental Health in War and Conflict: Qualitative Data Coding and Analysis |
| Organisation | Birzeit University |
| Country | Palestine, State of |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The course was designed based on the results of a Needs Assessment survey and the recently delivered intensive course "Research Methods for Mental Health in War and Conflict" (King's College London and Birzeit University Collaboration). They were taught at the Institute of Community and Public Health (ICPH) at Birzeit University by Dr Hanna Kienzler from King's College London with assistance from Ranim Amra and Shiraz Nasr from ICPH. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The courses were designed and taught in collaboration with Birzeit University R4HC-MENA members and others from the ICPH at Birzeit. |
| Impact | Participants included researchers; Master's students; Mental health professionals working for the Ministry of Health and NGOs. Participants have strengthened the following skills: qualitative data coding and analysis, thematic analysis. Approximately 4 cohort members (originally trained during the intensive summer course and now receiving specialised cohort training) are designing their own research projects and receive support and mentoring from the trainers at BZU and KCL. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Training Needs Assessment for Mental Health Research in War and Conflict. The West Bank, occupied Palestinian territory |
| Organisation | Birzeit University |
| Country | Palestine, State of |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Survey developed by both ICPH and KCL staff. Report written by ICPH with contribution from KCL; editing by KCL |
| Collaborator Contribution | Survey developed by both ICPH and KCL staff. Interviews carried out by ICPH. Data analysis carried out by ICPHReport written by ICPH with contribution from KCL. |
| Impact | Assessment identified the gap between reported importance of work tasks versus how well respondents do this task. Conclusion - substantial need for training in qualitative and quantitative methods among managers and employees working in research or record keeping. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Women Leaders in Health and Conflict Partnership |
| Organisation | London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Partnership between R4HC King's College London team and the Health in Humanitarian Crisis (HHIC) at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). Organising, funding and promoting events at King's College London and R4HC partner institutions. |
| Collaborator Contribution | HHIC have hosted and promoted events and will continue to support with events through the coming year. |
| Impact | Engagement activities: Women & Health and their role in Lebanon's current political crisis and Intifada, Dr Nassim El Achi, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom, 4 February 2020 Women Leaders in Health and Conflict Conferences, 8 June 2020, King's College London, United Kingdom and 25-26 June 2020, Hacettepe University, Ankara |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Women Leaders in Health and Conflict Partnership |
| Organisation | London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Partnership between R4HC King's College London team and the Health in Humanitarian Crisis (HHIC) at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). Organising, funding and promoting events at King's College London and R4HC partner institutions. |
| Collaborator Contribution | HHIC have hosted and promoted events and will continue to support with events through the coming year. |
| Impact | Engagement activities: Women & Health and their role in Lebanon's current political crisis and Intifada, Dr Nassim El Achi, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom, 4 February 2020 Women Leaders in Health and Conflict Conferences, 8 June 2020, King's College London, United Kingdom and 25-26 June 2020, Hacettepe University, Ankara |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | A Life Lived in Conflict podcast |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Podcast engaging with practitioners and researchers across a range of topics focused on conflict settings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://soundcloud.com/monajebril |
| Description | Bridging the divide between political science and public health |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | This talk was part of the Women Leaders in Health and Conflict initiative. In this event, Professor Melani Cammett[1], Clarence Dillon Professor of International Affairs in the Department of Government, Chair of the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies and Acting Director of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University, discussed her research which intersects political science and public health in conflict-affected areas; a nexus which lies at the heart of several global health challenges and opportunities. 32 attendees, primarily students, joined. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://r4hc-mena.org/2019/11/01/bridging-the-divide-between-political-science-and-public-health/ |
| Description | Building bridges of trust in Central Asia and COVID-19: experiences from the field |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Webinar hosted by the Women Leaders in Health and Conflict initiative. The event engaged with researchers and individuals working in the World Health Organisation, students and practitioners across the UK and north Asia region primarily. Tasnim Atatrah, from WHO was also a policy fellow with the R4HC CSaP policy fellow programme. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrMD-xYYCBw |
| Description | COVID-19 and therapeutic geographies across the MENA region: have they changed for good? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | In this webinar series, the R4HC-MENA partnership joins colleagues together from across the Middle East region to discuss current and future challenges for practitioners and researchers in conflict and health and most importantly, the direct and indirect impacts for vulnerable populations impacted by conflict. Our multi-disciplinary team of frontline practitioners and researchers will discuss a range of topics. During this webinar, we will discuss the impact on COVID-19 on health compared with other pressing health problems, how the pandemic has been mis-used, the impacts on healthcare-seeking behaviour, and the impact of the economic downturn on the political economy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjQTmmMAoCo |
| Description | COVID-19: regional perspectives from oncology centers in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Turkey |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Opinion piece - COVID-19: regional perspectives from oncology centers in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Turkey |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.oncology-central.com/covid-19-regional-perspectives-from-oncology-centers-in-lebanon-syr... |
| Description | CSaP Policy Fellows |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP) at the University of Cambridge was pleased to deliver programmes for five Policy Fellows from the MENA region, as part of the 2019 cohort. These Policy Fellows are: Dr Tasnim Atatrah, Country Preparedness Officer, Central Asia, World Health Organisation Dr Mohammed Rasoul Tarawneh, Secretary General, High Health Council, Jordan Dr Mustafa Cemaloglu, Paediatric Oncology and Haematology Fellow, Hacettepe University, Turkey Dr Khamis Elessi, Consultant and Head of Evidence-Based Medicine Unit, Islamic University, Gaza, Palestine Dr Mouna Mayoufi, Health Coordinator, International Rescue Committee This group visited Cambridge and London between 18 and 22 November 2019, meeting researchers and policy makers. Their questions covered areas from NCD policy in humanitarian settings, to health economics, and palliative care. Researchers from the University of Cambridge, King's College London, Imperial College London and other universities contributed to meeting the Policy Fellows. The Policy Fellows have been sent evaluation surveys to complete and initial feedback suggests that there were a number of useful meetings. Three more Policy Fellows were elected as part of the 2019 cohort: Dr Mai Alkaila, Minister of Health, Palestine, hopes to visit the UK in early 2020. Two Policy Fellows who were elected had their visa applications refused: Dr Mohamed Hamze, Director, White Smile Organization, Syria and Dr Naser Almhawish, Surveillance Coordinator, Assistance Coordination Unit, Syria. CSaP are organizing some meetings with researchers in the UK for Dr Hamze via Skype. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Cancer Control Course for Oncology Professionals |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Cancer Control Course for Oncology Professionals was conducted on 17th April 2019 at the start of the Turkish National Cancer Congress in Antalya. This Course was designed to increase awareness of the benefits of cancer control planning and to scale up the capacity of oncology professionals in Turkey with the purpose of promoting national cancer control planning and implementation through a multi-sectoral approach. This course was facilitated by a diverse range of experts, including UICC past president, past directors of the Turkish Cancer Control Department & cancer registries, the head of an NGO working for cancer control in Turkey, public health professors, epidemiologists, as well as a representative from the Ministry of Health. There were 41 participants in this course, who were selected from different regions across Turkey. All participants were healthcare professionals and researchers working in oncology settings that are critical to the development and implementation of a national cancer control plan. Participants appreciated this course for its focused and concise nature. All attendees received a certificate for completing the course. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://r4hc-mena.org/2019/05/15/cancer-control-course-for-oncology-professionals/ |
| Description | Cancer Policy Roundtable |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The three thematic sessions of the roundtable explored a wide spectrum of topics, from the epidemiological burden of cancer through to the alignment of cancer control programmes with plans for progress towards universal health coverage. In the first session Dr Omar Nimri (Jordan Cancer Registry) and Dr Asem Mansour (KHCC) explored the magnitude and nuances of cancer burden in Jordan; their perspective was complemented by Dr Deborah Mukherji's (American University of Beirut Medical Center, Lebanon) outline of the complex cancer care pathways in Lebanon. In the second session, Dr Mohammed Tarawneh's (Jordan High Health Council) overview of Jordan's health system priorities was followed by perspectives on the use of economic evidence at the global level (Dr Allison Colbert, WHO) and in the English National Health Service (Prof Kalipso Chalkidou, Imperial College London). Prof Richard Sullivan (King's College London) concluded the session with an overview of data requirements for better cancer intelligence, particularly in settings affected by conflict and instability. The third session saw deep dives into case-studies of HTA application from Jordan (Dr Abeer Rabaiah, KHCC) and Tunisia (Dr Mouna Jameleddine, INEAS), as well as insights from the English experience of financing anti-cancer drugs (Prof John Cairns, LSHTM). In the ensuing open discussion, roundtable participants brought to the fore a number of transversal issues, both conceptual and applied. One such issue related to the difficulty of making value for money judgements for cancer treatments in a setting with limited experience and data. What emerged from the discussion was the importance of using available support tools (e.g. guides, toolkits, country case-studies) and starting somewhere, however modestly, as only the practice of conducting and communicating such value assessments can generate awareness and stimulate local capacity. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://r4hc-mena.org/2020/01/21/using-economic-evidence-for-improved-cancer-spending-decisions-in-t... |
| Description | Conducting Health Research in Complex Environments |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On Tuesday 25th June, the Conflict and Health Research Group at King's College London (KCL), in collaboration with R4HC-MENA and RECAP hosted a one-day conference on Health Research in Conflict and Complex Environments. The event focused on research capacity strengthening in conflict affected areas, mental health and trauma in conflict, ethical challenges of conducting health research in complex environments, and the challenges of translating research into policy and practice. Throughout the day, speakers relayed both personal experiences from working in conflict-affected areas and findings from their research and offered substantive recommendations for improving health research in conflict with the ultimate goal of benefitting populations affected by conflict. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://r4hc-mena.org/2019/07/23/conducting-health-research-in-complex-environments-translating-rese... |
| Description | Conducting health research in complex environments: ethical and gender related challenges |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The event brought together a group of exceptional women and men from a range of organisations, including the King Hussein Foundation (KHF), International Medical Corps Jordan, Royal Health Awareness Society, German Jordanian University, King's College London, Hacettepe University, University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, and representatives from the Jordanian Ministry of Health. The seminar was moderated by R4HC-MENA Co-Director, Professor Rita Giacaman, whose extensive research experience in complex environments with vulnerable populations enriched the discussions.The diverse experiences of the speakers and attendees - clinicians, academics, programme managers and directors - resulted in a highly constructive discussion on the importance of collaboratively strengthening ethical guidelines of conducting health research with vulnerable populations in complex conflict impacted-environments. The seminar raised two important points: the impact of inequitable relations between Global North and Global South on ethical frameworks; and, how research is influenced by patriarchal relations and gender dynamics particularly in situations of conflicts. Through this insightful discussion, it was concluded that there is a growing urgency to meet the current challenges of implementing appropriate ethical guidelines in complex environments that meet the needs of vulnerable populations, maintain the dignity of participants, and challenge the current status quo driven by a Global North agenda. There was also a clear need for further mixed methods research in this space to inform policymakers in both global North and South |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://r4hc-mena.org/2020/01/23/conducting-health-research-in-complex-environments-ethical-and-gend... |
| Description | DE-POLITICIZING THE HEALTH SECTOR IN GAZA: NECESSITY VS POLITICS. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Blog piece - DE-POLITICIZING THE HEALTH SECTOR IN GAZA: NECESSITY VS POLITICS. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://discoversociety.org/2020/02/05/de-politicizing-the-health-sector-in-gaza-necessity-vs-politi... |
| Description | Decision making in the COVID-19 crisis - What's going on and what do we do? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | We have asked leading decision makers in government, multi-lateral agencies and those working on-the-ground in a variety of conflict and humanitarian settings to provide us with a short analysis of what they see as the current policy challenges in their job and how these may be overcome. Hamish de Bretton-Gordon and Filippa Lentzos share their insights with Richard Sullivan in this briefing session on bio security during COVID-19. A background document provided by Hamish de Bretton-Gordon is available here: https://tinyurl.com/y9pzqm9j. Hamish de Bretton-Gordon is a world leading expert in Chemical and Biological weapons. He is also a director of the NGO 'Doctors Under Fire' and an advisor to the Syrian Medical charity UOSSM. Hamish gives advice to UK Government agencies and is a senior MOD advisor on CBRN and Syria, and is frequently seen on global news channels providing expert commentary, and writes in UK, Middle East and US news journals and newspapers. He takes up the position of Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Magdalene College Cambridge in Oct 20 and his memoir 'Chemical Warrior' was published 03 Sep 20 https://t.co/Q4xfIBMhJA. Dr Filippa Lentzos is a mixed methods social scientist researching biological threats. Based at King's College London, she works as a Senior Research Fellow with a joint appointment in the Department of Global Health & Social Medicine and the Department of War Studies. She is also an Associate Senior Researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a columnist at the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, an Editor of the social science journal BioSocieties, and the NGO Coordinator for the Biological Weapons Convention. She regularly consults for the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The session will be chaired by Richard Sullivan, Professor of Cancer & Global Health and Principal Investigator of the Research for Health in Conflict in the Middle East & North Africa (R4HC-MENA) programme. Richard is co-Director of the Conflict & Health Research Group at KCL. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4im7Ka12m0 |
| Description | Does Cancer Treatment Warrant Special Consideration from Health Decision-Makers in Low- and Middle-Income Countries? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Blog - Does Cancer Treatment Warrant Special Consideration from Health Decision-Makers in Low- and Middle-Income Countries? A Gheorghe, R Sullivan, K Chalkidou |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.cgdev.org/blog/does-cancer-treatment-warrant-special-consideration-health-decision-maker... |
| Description | Ecancer R4HC Videos |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Videos created to engage wider audience and understanding of the R4HC Programme |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://r4hc-mena.org |
| Description | Economic crisis, coronavirus pandemic and Beirut port blast: Lebanese resilience tested to breaking point? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Blog piece on the economic crisis, coronavirus pandemic and Beirut port blast. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://r4hc-mena.org/2020/08/20/economic-crisis-coronavirus-pandemic-and-beirut-port-blast-lebanese... |
| Description | Executive Board Meeting - December 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Executive Board meeting of all R4HC members in Amman, Jordan. This provided an opportunity for members to further engage with the programme, defining work streams and partnerships and focusing on communications strategies. In addition to the core activities of the Executive Board, presentations were given on proposals for new and emerging areas of work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/d3ffd071bc52/r4hc-mena-newsletter-january-2020 |
| Description | Executive Board Meeting - March 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Executive Board meeting of all R4HC members in Amman, Jordan. This provided an opportunity for members to further engage with the programme, defining work streams and partnerships and focusing on communications strategies. In addition to the core activities of the Executive Board, presentations were given on proposals for new and emerging areas of work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/3917c85e5f6d/r4hc-mena-april-newsletter |
| Description | Executive Board Meeting - September 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Executive Board meeting of all R4HC members in Cambridge, UK. This provided an opportunity for members to further engage with the programme, defining work streams and partnerships and focusing on communications strategies. In addition to the core activities of the Executive Board, presentations were given on proposals for new and emerging areas of work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/8098dc236a77/r4hc-mena-newsletter-september-2019 |
| Description | Executive Board Meeting December 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Executive Board meeting of all R4HC members in Turkey. This provided an opportunity for members to further engage with the programme, defining work streams and partnerships and focusing on communications strategies. In addition to the core activities of the Executive Board, presentations were given on proposals for new and emerging areas of work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://r4hc-mena.org/2018/12/21/1967/ |
| Description | Executive Board Meeting February 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Executive Board meeting of all R4HC members in Lebanon. This provided an opportunity for members to further engage with the programme, defining work streams and partnerships and focusing on communications strategies. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Executive Board Meeting June 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Executive Board meeting of all R4HC members in Lebanon. This provided an opportunity for members to further engage with the programme, overview of work streams current activities and partnerships. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Film: Employing essential workers: displaced Syrian healthcare professionals in the UK & Europe |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This film showcases a project in which we bring together new partners from academia, policy, politics and those working on-the-ground to address the policy and political challenges preventing the integration and employment of displaced Syrian healthcare workers (HCWs) into labour markets in the Middle East, Europe and the United Kingdom. In the film we present the experiences of three Syrian healthcare workers who have arrived in Turkey, Germany and the UK. These countries represent the spectrum of policy approaches, political and legislative systems in which Syrian HCWs attempt to offer their much-needed experience and high-quality skills. Project lead Dr Adam Coutts (@adamcoutts) says "employing displaced Syrian healthcare workers is a 'win-win' for both host communities and refugees in terms helping to strengthen the NHS and fill service gaps exposed by the Covid-19 crisis. Employing these healthcare workers helps them move out of poverty and get on with their lives rather than just getting by. They have already been through enough trauma in escaping a war zone. It is a great waste to not use their skills!" Dr Aula Abbara (@SyriaHealth) adds "much more investment and policy attention needs to be given for services like the Lincolnshire Refugee Doctors Programme who provide an essential service which supports refugee doctors and speeds up the process of recertification and recruitment." Why employ displaced Syrian healthcare workers? For healthcare workers, Syria has become the most dangerous country in the world to practice. After nine years of conflict, the health of Syrians, their health system and its workforce have been destroyed. The rapid outbreak of Covid19 across Syria is set to add further misery. Thousands of qualified health professionals in Syria have left the country since 2011 due to military attacks on clinics and hospitals. These essential workers now find themselves excluded from formal job opportunities and sliding into poverty in host communities in the Middle East and Europe. Syrian HCWs as with many other displaced HCW professionals are a well-educated and highly skilled workforce. Their experiences have important policy, economic, humanitarian and academic implications. The ongoing exodus of highly skilled workers from Syria, Iraq and North Africa - characteristic of protracted crises in middle-income, largely urban settings - affects the ability of aid organisations and governments to deliver humanitarian assistance to people. Available evidence on post-conflict reconstruction shows that rebuilding the health workforce is one of the top priorities for action to ensure strengthened healthcare provision for citizens in both the short and long term. The World Health Organization has recently called for large scale investment in the health workforce to achieve the health Sustainable Development Goals. Approximately eighty percent of the investment required to achieve universal health coverage by 2030 is needed for the education and employment of health personnel. The WHO estimates a shortfall of 18 million health workers to accelerate universal health coverage by 2030, particularly in low to middle income countries. Displaced healthcare professionals present major economic and social opportunities for host communities in the Middle East and the economies of Europe. Specifically, they will help to: 1) strengthen the underfunded and overwhelmed health and social welfare systems in the Middle East, Europe and the United Kingdom, 2) help countries move toward achieving universal healthcare (UHC) and above all increasing economic productivity, 3) reduce the burden of protracted crises on host community public services in humanitarian settings such as Lebanon. This research is funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund, UK Research & Innovation [Award ES/P010962/1] MEDIA CONTACTS Project website: https://r4hc-mena.org/ Dr Adam P. Coutts, Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge apc31@cam.ac.uk Tel: +44 7794 505 815 @adamcoutts Arabic/English: Dr Aula Abbara: Syria Public Health Network aula.abbara@gmail.com @SyriaHealth Professor Richard Sullivan, Conflict & Health Research Group, Kings College London richard.sullivan@kcl.ac.uk Lincolnshire Refugee Doctors Programme Media contact: Chairperson: Vince Ion: mail@vinceion.co.uk Tel: +44 03033 302 296 Website: https://www.lincsrefugeedoctors.co.uk/ @LincsRefugeeDoc |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oyfr-fjPQJo&t=48s |
| Description | Food Insecurity in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: Reflections in Light of the COVID-19 Lockdown |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Blog related to work with collaborators at the LSE on food insecurity with reflections on COVID-19. This led to interviews with the Independent Jewish Voices-Canada, which was published https://www.ijvcanada.org/dispatch-5-from-palestine-on-covid-19-curfews-and-mutual-aid/?fbclid=IwAR12jQ9IOjO7SIDKyS-fPUqN-Av9VfBdliy4Zjna8bRENo-pu1-5Qj62uV4 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/mec/2020/03/31/food-insecurity-in-the-occupied-palestinian-territory-reflect... |
| Description | From Palestine on COVID-19, Curfews and Mutual Aid |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | From Palestine on COVID-19, Curfews and Mutual Aid - a follow on from other blogs and engagement work with Birzeit University colleagues |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.ijvcanada.org/dispatch-5-from-palestine-on-covid-19-curfews-and-mutual-aid/?fbclid=IwAR1... |
| Description | Health Economics Training |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A 3-day Introduction to Health Economics training workshop, facilitated by Dr Adrian Gheorghe (Imperial College London) and hosted by King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC) was delivered. Workshop participants came from a range of Jordanian organizations, including KHCC, the High Health Council, Royal Medical Services and the Jordanian Food and Drug Agency; as also included Early Career Researchers from R4HC partner institutions. The participants' learning journey started with an overview of key health economics concepts and then focused on measuring costs and outcomes in healthcare, culminating with the foundation of the economic evaluation of health interventions. Theoretical sessions were interspersed with practical activities, either as small group discussions or using spreadsheet-based exercises. The group was thoroughly engaged throughout the three days, constantly challenging the material and asking questions pertaining to their day-to-day professional practice. The responses collected in the feedback forms suggest the workshop was very well received and the PEOH workstream has started planning follow-up activities, in Jordan and elsewhere in the R4HC space, to build on it. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/d3ffd071bc52/r4hc-mena-newsletter-january-2020 |
| Description | How militaries around the world joined the battle against COVID-19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Blog piece - How militaries around the world joined the battle against COVID-19 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://r4hc-mena.org/2020/06/21/how-militaries-around-the-world-joined-the-battle-against-covid-19-... |
| Description | Inaugural Lecture |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | On Tuesday 15 October 2019 the Women Leaders in Conflict and Health Initiative held its inaugural lecture at King's College London, at the Department of War Studies delivered by Professor Rita Giacaman from the Institute of Community and Public Health (ICPH) at Birzeit University in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and was attended by approximately 40participants. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://r4hc-mena.org/2019/10/21/a-shared-story/ |
| Description | International Advisory Board and Executive Board Meeting September 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Executive Board meeting of all R4HC members in Lebanon. This provided an opportunity for members to further engage with the programme, defining work streams and partnerships and focusing on communications strategies. This meeting also included the recently appointed International Advisory Board and group of Research Affiliated. Short videos were created during this meeting with partners eCancer. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Interviews for various media outlets on the situation of COVID-19 in humanitarian contexts |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Adam Coutts has also undertaken a number of interviews for various media outlets on the situation of COVID-19 in humanitarian contexts on behalf of R4HC-MENA. These include: • Unprepared for the Worst: World's Most Vulnerable Brace for Virus • Collapse Of Bangladesh's Garment Industry During Coronavirus Leaves Its Workers More Vulnerable Than Ever • COVID-19 and Humanitarian Access for Refugees and IDPs: Part 2 - Syria and Bangladesh • Crowding, lack of water spell COVID-19 nightmare for world's 71 million refugees • No soap nor water: Fear mounts for refugees as coronavirus spreads • US now leads in the World in Confirmed Cases • How the coronavirus outbreak could hit refugees and migrants • Coronavirus fears grip Middle East as Iran denies cover-up • As Coronavirus Spreads, Experts Warn Refugees Are Particularly Vulnerable |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://r4hc-mena.org/covid-19-response/op-eds-and-opinion-pieces/ |
| Description | Lebanon Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) Capacity-Building |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Global Mental Health Lab at Colombia IPT training workshop in November 2020: all new trainees completed and passed the IPT Knowledge Test, and will proceed to begin supervision on three IPT training cases. This also included alignment meetings with the MoPH to reprioritize mental health capacity building in Lebanon given mental health burden from compounded shocks and crises. GMHLab conducted an online orientation session with advanced trainees about expectations and competency benchmarks for IPT trainee-supervisors and trainee-master-trainers. Monitoring and evaluation framework and standardized tools were established and refined to collect trainee-level data via HIPAA-compliant, online platforms for clinical supervision. Future discussion with advanced trainees will seek to establish a systematized provider-competency rating system. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully (CALM) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Center for Palliative and Cancer Care in Conflict (CPCCC) at King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC), Jordan, conducted an introductory workshop on Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully (CALM) on March 11th, 2019. 48 Clinicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers and researchers, attended the workshop. The training was a part of the research capacity building of activities of the R4HC-MENA project, within the cancer and palliative care work stream as well as mental health stream Dr. Gary Rodin delivered the workshop in collaboration with KHCC DR Rodin is the Head of the Department of Supportive Care at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and the Director of Global Institute of Psychosocial, Palliative and End of Life Care (GIPPEC) in Toronto, Canada. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Migration and Mental Health: A Training Workshop for Early Career Researchers |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | The workshop aimed to increase the research capacity of postgraduate students and early career researchers from health, psychology, social work and social science fields on mental health research with migrants. It will also worked to build a network of students and early career professionals working on migrants' mental health in Ankara. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Monthly Newsletter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Newsletter created to engage wider audience and increase understanding of R4HC programme and possible engagement activities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Navigating Access to Healthcare in Lebanon: The Political Economy of Health across Conflict, Revolution and Applicability |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Article on Navigating Access to Healthcare in Lebanon: The Political Economy of Health across Conflict, Revolution and Applicability |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.e-ir.info/2020/03/20/navigating-access-to-healthcare-in-lebanon-the-political-economy-of... |
| Description | No Place Like Home - Refugee Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Approximately 50 attendees, this interdisciplinary workshop brought together scholars, policy-makers, and representatives from the UN and NGOs to examine the limits of the current refugee regime and explore alternative solutions. More specifically, this event was used as a starting point for a discussion on the suitability and durability of current solutions to refugee crises, and will help bridge the divide between those who formulate international policies, those who implement them, and the refugees who are ultimately affected. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.refugeesworkshop.com/ |
| Description | Opportunity Amid Challenge: Community-Led, Youth-Powered COVID-19 Research in Sudan |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Webinar hosted by the Women Leaders in Health and Conflict initiative. The event engaged with researchers and individuals working as part of the Ypeer network in Sudan. It focused on youth engagement and the role of women's leadership in this initiative, particularly in mitigating covid-19. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://r4hc-mena.org/our-work/wlhc/ |
| Description | Paediatric Qualitative Research Training at King Hussein Cancer Center |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Center for Palliative and Cancer Care in Conflict (CPCCC) at King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC), Jordan, conducted a workshop on Paediatric Qualitative Research Training for research and support staff. The workshop was attended by clinicians, nurses, psychologists and researchers. The training was part of the research capacity building activities of R4HC-MENA within the cancer and palliative care work stream. This will also influence a further study protocol, Understanding Palliative Care Outcomes of Children and Young People with Advanced Cancer in Jordan and Turkey, to be undertaken by the team that delivered this training. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://r4hc-mena.org/2019/03/01/paediatric-qualitative-research-training-at-king-hussein-cancer-cen... |
| Description | Palliative Care Work Stream Research Meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | the R4HC-MENA Palliative Care work stream ran an "Advanced Qualitative Research Workshop" at King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC) in Amman. The workshop is part of the collaboration between the Cicely Saunders Institute at King's College London and the Center for Palliative & Cancer Care in Conflict (CPCCC) at KHCC. Guest speakers included Prof Richard Harding & Dr Ping Guo from KCL. More than 50 multidisciplinary healthcare professionals and medical students were invited from KHCC, Al-Basheer Hospital and Jordan University. The workshop was very intensive and discussed paper writing, outcome measures, qualitative data analysis, the item generation and Integrated Palliative Care Outcome Scale (IPOS) adaptation and validation. The training was followed by a meeting with the NCD Unit, cancer registry and death registry at Jordan Ministry of Health to discuss current and future research projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://r4hc-mena.org/2019/07/29/palliative-care-work-stream-research-meeting-july-2019/ |
| Description | Palliative Care in 2020 and Beyond Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Some 60 attendees including Turkish Ministry of Health representatives and the World Health Organisation EMRO. Discussions focussed on palliative care through the lens of global cancer control, universal health care and conflict health. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Palliative Care in Humanitarian Crises |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | the Palliative Care team at the Center for Palliative and Cancer Care in Conflict (CPCC) at the King Hussein Cancer Centre held its first workshop for 'Palliative Care in Humanitarian Crises'. The participants were from multiple disciplines including physicians, nurses, psychologists and physiotherapists and all work for a medical humanitarian organization in northern Jordan. The workshop included training sessions on pain assessment, basic symptom management, communication skills, care of the dying patient and ethical and cultural issues in palliative and end of life care. The introductory lecture addressed the global need for palliative care with a particular focus on the more recent recognition of the need for integration of palliative care and symptom relief into the response to humanitarian emergencies and crises. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://r4hc-mena.org/2020/02/21/palliative-care-in-humanitarian-crises-workshop-in-jordan/ |
| Description | Palliative and Home Care Training |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | the Center for Palliative and Cancer Care in Conflict (CPCCC) conducted an extensive five day Palliative and Home Care Training for three Iranian Nurses from different hospitals at the King Hussein Cancr Center (KHCC). The training included didactic lectures, clinical training, pain and symptom management, Home Care training and research education. Participants also had the opportunity to participate in clinical rounds, family meetings, clinical encounters on a daily basis, and interdisciplinary team rounds and meetings. The course covered various domains from the physical, social, psychological and spiritual aspects of care in addition to cultural and ethical aspects, communication skills, end of life care and special session on research in palliative care and areas of conflict. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://r4hc-mena.org/2020/01/23/palliative-and-home-care-training/ |
| Description | Partnership Strategy Meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | King's College London hosted staff from Fenix Insight and FOI to discuss research approaches to research capacity building in biosecurity, bioweapons and CBRN; medical and health intelligence, and; toxic and explosive remnants of war. FOI, based in Sweden, is one of Europe's leading research institutes in the areas of defence and security. Fenix Insight focuses on understanding and managing the consequences of explosive ordnance across the world. The meeting covered the following strategic themes: Biosecurity, Bioweapons and CBRN; OSINT; Health Intelligence; Toxic and Explosive Remnants of War. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Political Economy of Health in Gaza (Video-1): An Introduction |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Video created to disseminate research focus in the Political Economy of Health workstream on Gaza |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbPAgrqzMN0 |
| Description | Political Economy of Health in Gaza: An Introduction |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Political Economy of Health in Gaza: An Introduction |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbPAgrqzMN0 |
| Description | Political Economy of Health in Gaza: Research Methodology |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Political Economy of Health in Gaza: Research Methodology |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbPAgrqzMN0 |
| Description | Protection of medics and hospitals in conflict zones |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Online video targeting policy makers and practitioners on the protection requirements for health care workers in conflict settings |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://vimeo.com/401259781 |
| Description | Qualitative Research Methods for Mental Health in War and Conflicts |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The R4HC-Turkey "Health and Conflict" work stream organised and hosted the certified 'Qualitative Research Methods for Mental Health in War and Conflict' course. The course has been developed by researchers from Birzeit University (BZU) in Palestine and King's College London (KCL) in the UK who came to teach it at Hacettepe University over four days from 15-18 April 2019. The teaching was delivered by Dr. Hanna Kienzler and Dr. Nancy Tamimi from KCL; and Dr. Weeam Hammoudeh from BZU; with assistance from Dr. Gamze Aktuna and Dr. Fahad Ahmed from Hacettepe University and Mathias Regent from KCL. This intensive course focused on qualitative research skills and introduced participants to (mental) health in war and conflict, the value and process of qualitative research, and ethical procedures and challenges; how to design research projects, formulate research questions, and recruit participants; different data collection methods such as observations, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions; and data analysis and dissemination including conference posters, infographics and oral presentations. An interdisciplinary and international group of 29 highly motivated students attended the course. They included students from different universities including Hacettepe, Ankara, Baskent, Gazi, Mersin and Mustafa Kemal University, and Hatay as well as various institutions with a focus on public health, psychiatry, demography, social work, medical ethics and pediatrics, and oncology. Students were exposed to theory while also having ample opportunity to apply the learned concepts via practical and interactive activities throughout the course. Upon successful completion of the course, participants received a certificate jointly issued by Hacettepe University, Birzeit University and King's College London. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://r4hc-mena.org/2019/05/13/qualitative-research-methods-for-mental-health-in-war-and-conflicts... |
| Description | R4HC Covid-19 Response Website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This part of the R4HC website focuses primarily on our work relating to the Covid-19 response as a source of our current activity, other resources and collaborations |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://r4hc-mena.org/covid-19-response/ |
| Description | R4HC Twitter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Twitter account established to promote R4HC activities and further develop engagement and understanding of the programme. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | R4HC Website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Website created to reach a wide audience to enhance understanding of and engagement with the R4HC programme. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://r4hc-mena.org |
| Description | R4HC country launch Jordan |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Country launch for Jordan at King Hussein Cancer Centre, Amman. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | R4HC country launch Lebanon |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The country launch of R4HC with Lebanon. Decision to do the major launch here at AUB in Q4 2018 following Oct review. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | R4HC country launch Turkey |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Initial substantive engagement between KCL, Haccettepe and other research / practitioners in Ankara - including acdemic staff from other universities. The 2 day long meeting involved also a field visit to engage with practitioners working in a refugee care centre to exchange ideas and learn about the particular context. A number of new dimensions have been added to the R4HC work programme as a result of this meeting. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | REFLECTIONS ON HIGHER EDUCATION IN PALESTINE: BARRIERS TO ACADEMIA AND INTELLECTUAL DIALOGUE IN THE PALESTINIAN-ISRAELI CONTEXT |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | This article is a scholarly contribution to the topic of Palestinian-Israeli dialogue which has been an issue for debate for a long time, but has largely failed to materialise even among the most educated Palestinians and Israelis, written by R4HC Early Career Researcher Mona Jebril. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://discoversociety.org/2019/10/02/reflections-on-higher-education-in-palestine-barriers-to-acad... |
| Description | Research Cartoon: Reforming the Health sector in Gaza |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Research cartoon to engage with practitioners working in health and conflict |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.canva.com/design/DAEA3qmCOmw/KECR2hJrhCeHqYESBb3jmA/view#1 |
| Description | Research for Health in the Syrian Conflict Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This one day conference hosted by the Conflict and Health workstream of R4HC-MENA in collaboration with the Union of Medical and Relief Organisation (UOSSM) at King's College London, bought together experts from academia, front-line health actors and NGOs to showcase original research on current health issues in Syria, spanning from health system governance to epidemiology to many other disciplines within global health. The event came at a critical time as the Syrian conflict is entering its ninth year with severe impacts on the health of Syrians, both inside Syria and those who fled the country seeking refuge in neighbouring countries and Europe. The call for abstracts preceding the event attracted some 30 submissions, of which 14 were selected for oral presentations during the conference. The speakers came from a variety of backgrounds including academic researchers, humanitarian professionals and clinical doctors, with 10 Syrian researchers based in Syria, Turkey, Lebanon and the UK. The presentations covered the following themes: health system governance and adaptation in the Syrian conflict; health research and medical education and training; health of Syrian Refugees in neighbouring countries and elsewhere; and, the conflict impact on morbidities. The event was a great opportunity for productive interaction and collaboration between academic institutions, NGOs and local actors involved in the Syrian response. R4HC aims to invest in further similar events in paving the way for more collaborations of this kind to encourage equal and effective partnerships between different actors to advance health research in conflict settings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/a55b0b6bcffe/r4hc-mena-newsletter-november-2019 |
| Description | Research in refugee mental health in the time of pandemic |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The mental health work stream has organized a workshop named "research in refugee mental health in the time of pandemic". Around 70 participants from several cities joined this one-day online workshop. Like our previous workshop in February 2020, the participants were mainly graduate or postgraduate students of psychology, social work, and nursing, as well as medical doctors. The presentations were done by experts from the Stress Assessment and Research Centre (STAR) at Hacettepe. The topics included: an overview of mental health problems during the pandemic; mental health problems of refugees during the pandemic; challenges in conducting refugee mental health research during the pandemic; ethical issues in conducting refugee mental health research during the pandemic. the "challenges" session was presented by three (Syrian) interviewers who took part in our follow-up study of Syrian refugees in Ankara. They presented their own experiences when they did phone interviews with the participants. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Strategic action to address organisational culture for women's leadership in health and conflict |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | To celebrate International Women's Day, WLHC is convened a diverse group of women leaders to address the challenge of progressing gender equitable leadership by changing organizational culture. You are invited to come together with women who are humanitarian practitioners, policy makers, NGOs and academics. The starting point for this conversation is the WLHC's research into challenges and opportunities for women leaders in conflict and humanitarian health. 14 Participants attended and a policy brief will be written building on this. Participants were from academic institutions, UN organisations, and NGOs. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Syria Conference October 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was the second Syria conference, following on from the initial successful event in 2019. Over 100 people joined the event (remotely) on the day, primarily from across the MENA region and the UK. The video is available online too. This event will sit at the interface of academia and practice and touch upon theoretical and practical dilemmas faced when conducting health research in the Syrian conflict. Hosted by an international Syrian health NGO that was involved in all aspects of the health response in Syria, and a project that is heavily involved in strengthening capacity for this type of research, the aim of this event is to bring academics and practitioners together to discuss the challenges and the opportunities of conducting health research in the Syrian conflict and in conflict settings in general. The conference will include presentations of papers and research done inside Syria and in neighbouring countries by Syrian and international researchers. The presentations are grouped in the following themes: • The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health systems inside Syria. • Health system governance and adaption in the Syrian conflict • Health research and medical education and training • Non-communicable diseases, maternal health and clinical practice. • Multidisciplinary partnerships between research institutes and humanitarian actors & Evaluation of humanitarian interventions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://r4hsss.org/ |
| Description | Syria's displaced health workforce: Policy opportunities and challenges |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | In this policy briefing, our speakers present the latest data and information on the situation of HCWs within Syria, neighbouring frontline countries as well as Europe. Case studies and policy options for host community governments are outlined. These demonstrate how displaced HCWs can be supported which not only helps displaced individuals and their families but can also benefit the health and social welfare systems of host countries. Speakers: Ibadat Dhillon, World Health Organization, Department for Health Workforce Diana Rayes, Syria Public Health Network and PhD candidate at Johns Hopkins University Vince Ion, Lincolnshire Refugee Doctor Programme Houssam Alnahhas, Syria Public Health Network, Physicians for Human Rights Fouad M. Fouad, Syria Public Health Network and American University of Beirut Chair: Rita Dayoub, Chatham House |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6CaStA8MdY&t=7s |
| Description | Syria, Salisbury & saving lives at war: what next for foreign policy and humanitarian intervention? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Book launch and panel discussion with Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, Sir Stephen O'Brien & Sir Christopher Greenwood In this webinar we are pleased to welcome three leading figures in humanitarian intervention and international diplomacy to discuss Hamish de Bretton-Gordon's new book - Syria, Salisbury and savings lives at war. Hosted by the Global Challenges Research Fund 'Research for Health in Conflict in the MENA Region (R4HC-MENA) project, King's College London, and Magdalene College, Cambridge. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VceUfut59c |
| Description | The Economics of Pediatric Cancer in Jordan, Lebanon, the occupied Palestinian territory, and Turkey |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Blog piece on The Economics of Pediatric Cancer in Jordan, Lebanon, the occupied Palestinian territory, and Turkey. Supports a wider study https://ascopubs.org/doi/full/10.1200/GO.20.00041 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://r4hc-mena.org/2020/08/03/the-economics-of-pediatric-cancer-in-jordan-lebanon-the-occupied-pa... |
| Description | The Politics and Economics of COVID-19 Relief in Times of Conflictand Vulnerabilityin the MENA Region |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Politics and Economics of COVID-19 Relief in Times of Conflict and Vulnerability in the MENA Region - publication |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://ijrdo.org/index.php/hsn/article/view/3752/2827 |
| Description | The Social and Political Determinants of Health and COVID-19 in Palestine |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Approximately 45 people joined this event live and it has continued to be viewed on YouTube. A commentary piece based on this was published in the BMJ Global Health. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFT4QQ5R9OM |
| Description | The Virus, the Settler, and the Siege: Gaza in the Age of Corona |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The Virus, the Settler, and the Siege: Gaza in the Age of Corona - book |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/node/1650542 |
| Description | The role of women leaders in Syria in the Covid-19 response and beyond |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Webinar hosted by the Women Leaders in Health and Conflict initiative. The video has gone on to be used as a teaching tool at universities. A peer-reviewed commentary was also written following this event (published April 2021) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q-aaTqcaAw&t=1400s |
| Description | Training Needs Assessment for Mental Health Research in War and Conflict |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Our specific focus is on mental health research and capacity strengthening in research on the mental health consequences of conflict. In preparation for the development of a certificate intensive short course named "Research Methods for Mental Health in War and Conflict", we set out to assess the needs of potential course participants including researchers, current and recently graduated Master's students, professionals working for local or international NGOs and Ministries, and humanitarian aid providers. Beginning in January, our team opted to first investigate which institutions are doing what and where in the West Bank of the occupied Palestinian Territory in order to establish their training needs for research methods. Unfortunately, we could not reach the Gaza Strip due to the blockade of the movement of people and goods into and out of the Gaza Strip. However, as can been seen in the section 'Institutional profiles' (p. 3), some institutions with main offices in the West Bank extend their services to the Gaza Strip, albeit with difficulties given the political context. At the same time, we also wanted to find out from researchers or potential researchers themselves about their training needs for research methods in the field of mental health before we embarked on curricula development and training. We believe this is a necessary step to complete before training schemes can be developed. Although we have known the terrain of mental health research and services in the occupied Palestinian territory for quite a while contexts, people, and institutions change over time and such changes need to be taken into consideration when designing training projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://r4hc-mena.org/wp1/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Needs-assessment-mental-health-June-2018.pdf |
| Description | Training courses on Covid19 preventative and curative measures in conflict affected countries |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Abdulkarim Ekzayez has delivered more than 15 online training courses on COVID-19 preventative and curative measures in conflict affected countries: Syria, Yemen, Nigeria and Pakistan. The trainings focused on updating local practitioners on up-to-date evidence on COVID-19 and get updates on how the pandemic is evolving in these countries. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Women & Health and their role in Lebanon's current political crisis and Intifada |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | As part of the Women Leaders in Conflict Health Initiative (WLCH) global seminar series, Dr Nassim El Achi (R4HC Research Associated) discussed two key critical themes in the ongoing protests since 17 October 2019 in Lebanon: Women & Health. First, the nature of the multi-fragmented and highly privatized Lebanese health system and how "Health for all" has become one of the major demands of the protestors including women who are at the frontline of the "Lebanese intifada." The second theme looked into the role that Lebanese women are playing in leading the protests in confronting the deeply embedded patriarchal system that includes sexualization of women, harassment, and inequitable civil rights and nationality laws. There were approximately 30 attendees. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/events/women-health-and-their-role-lebanons-current-political-cri... |
| Description | • A series of analyses focusing on the response to COVID-19 in LMICs, published as blogs on the CGD website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | A series of analyses focusing on the response to COVID-19 in LMICs, published as blogs on the CGD website: o Does One Size Fit All? Realistic Alternatives for COVID-19 Response in Low-Income Countries (K Chalkidou, R Sullivan) o Urgent Call for an Exit Plan: The Economic and Social Consequences of Responses to COVID-19 Pandemic (K Chalkidou, R Sullivan) o Are Strict Lockdowns Suited to Populations Who Live Hand to Mouth? A Closer Look at Malawi (K Chalkidou, R Sullivan) o Strengthening the Basics: Approaches to COVID-19 Care in Low-Resource Settings (S Ismail, K Chalkidou, R Sullivan) o Strategic Investments for COVID-19 and Future Epidemic Threats (A Gheorghe, K Chalkidou) o Maintaining Essential Services in the Time of COVID-19: Vaccination Delivery in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (S Ismail, K Chalkidou) o Using Military Health Systems in the Response to COVID-19 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.cgdev.org/blog/does-one-size-fit-all-realistic-alternatives-covid-19-response-low-income... |