Workforce Capacity and Capability Building Through Metrics-Based Mentoring Partnerships

Background: Globally, cancer is the second leading cause of death. Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) especially lack the sufficient healthcare and oncology workforces needed to screen, diagnose and treat individuals with cancer. While traditional academic and training programs designed to produce healthcare professionals in these countries fill a critical role, few programs exist that maintain, develop, and increase the knowledge, skills, and professional performance of current healthcare and oncology workforces. Mentoring partnerships and twinning programs can provide ongoing education and training that strengthen and build workforce capacity and capability for the full scope of cancer care. Aim: The goal is to achieve resource-appropriate multimodality cancer-care using guideline- and protocol-based education and training and also to develop the capability to conduct world quality research. The model utilizes in-person, in-country site visits lasting from several weeks to months and ongoing connectivity through weekly telemedicine video conferences. Methods: The International Cancer Expert Corps (ICEC) and partner organizations are establishing a network of global and multisectoral partnerships that builds human capacity and capability needed to establish sustainable cancer programs that function at world-class standards. The three-fold mentor-mentee approach ( www.iceccancer.org ) is built by 1) enlisting hubs of expertise to include academic medical centers/universities, private practices and an ICEC Central Hub, 2) enrolling the breadth of expert-mentors needed from a university, practice, professional society and interested individuals, and 3) identifying centers in LMICs - clinics/hospitals/and other care delivery sites in underserved areas, and associates - physicians/allied healthcare workers- seeking mentoring and education. Results: Recent implementation of the ICEC 5-Step Progression Plan provides guidance and serves as an assessment tool for measuring progress between the hubs-centers programs and expert-associate. Twinning programs (hubs-ICEC centers) have been established in multiple sites worldwide including in Africa, Asia and Eurasia. Conclusion: Implementation of the ICEC 5-Step Progression Plan provides a platform from which to track the current stages and progress of twinning mentor-mentee programs, and to evaluate new programs. This information guides the programs and also provides metric-based investment in global health. Critically as the skills in associates and ICEC centers grows, they achieve expert-mentor status and centers become hubs to serve the surrounding regions, thereby enabling geometric growth in cancer care to meet the needs of the growing global burden of cancer. The content is the personal opinion of the authors and not their organizations.