7 Cancer Education Materials for Health Workers and Community Educators Guide Launched
By Adiga Julius .
Uganda cancer institute (UCI) has launched the cancer information, education and communication guide for health workers as a means to facilitate comprehensive cancer community programme.
The booklets detail all the information on the causes, effects, treatment and steps to help the health workers at regional and lower health centers detect cancer at its early stages as well as provide better information to health workers.
According to the head of Comprehensive Cancer Community programme (CCCP) Dr. Noleb Mugisha , Uganda has for long lacked clear information regarding detection and treatment of cancer which has contributed to the wide spread of the deadly disease.
Dr Mugisha said that the materials are going to empower health workers at lower level on how to prevent and detect cancers early, especially the cancer of the cervix which is the number one killer in Uganda, responsible a thousand deaths of women in the country, and to how refer patients appropriately and timely.
“Our hope is that these booklets will be used to expedite the early detection, diagnosis, the early referral for these patients, so that we can improve outcomes, because many patients can actually get cured of cancer of the cervix, if they are detected early ,”Dr Mugisha said.
He said that the Uganda cancer institute (UCI) has produced different Categories of Materials that include Prostate Cancer, Cancer of the Cervix, Cancer of the Breast, Cancers in Children and Referral Guidelines for suspected Cancer among others.
He noted that among the books include one produced specifically for community health educators with flip chart to help them on how to educate communities about cancer.
Dr Mugisha added that the books are going to be distributed throughout the country, using district health officers as focal persons to disseminate them to the health workers.
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