Human resource capacity
Table 2 shows the distribution of human resources for pediatric cancer in the two hospitals. We enumerated one pediatric hemato-oncologist, one surgical oncologist, and one medical oncologist in the surveyed hospitals. However, there were pediatric residents working in the hemato-oncology unit of MCC/CBF whom we did not include as specialists, given their schedule at the unit. In addition, the Groupe Franco Africain d’Oncologie Pédiatrique (GFAOP) offers an 18-month training course in paediatric oncology. At the time of the assessment, one of the current residents had completed this paediatric oncology course. Therefore, there were three pediatric oncologists for an expected 1552 incident cases of childhood cancers annually. Furthermore, about 40% (18/45) of staff involved in pediatric oncology have received specialty training in pediatric oncology. All surveyed hospitals had psychosocial support personnel, including chaplains, teachers, trained nurses, and volunteer staff who supported the clinicians to provide psychotherapy to patients and their families.
Table 2: Distribution of human resources involved in pediatric cancer care in two pediatric cancer hospitals in Cameroon