U-CARE launches 'Guardian Advisory Board' in Tanzania
Meeting with Guardian Advisory Board in Tanzania.
U-CARE has recently established an advisory group composed of guardians of children who have been treated for cancer in Tanzania. This ‘Guardian Advisory Board’ will actively collaborate with researchers in the GuardiansCan project, which aims to develop a mobile phone-based support for guardians of children treated for cancer.
Professor Louise von Essen, principal investigator of GuardiansCan.
The recruitment for the Guardian Advisory Board has taken place at Muhimbili National Hospital in Dar es Salaam. U-CARE Programme Director Professor Louise von Essen, serves as the principal investigator for GuardiansCan.
The guardians we have recruited have various relationships with the children. They may be their uncles, grandmothers, mothers, or fathers and come from different regions of Tanzania, says Louise von Essen.
She notes that adherence to cancer treatment among children in Tanzania is low and that there is a lack of support for the guardians of these children.
By involving guardians directly in the research process, we aim to ensure that the mobile support tool addresses their real-world needs, adds Louise von Essen.
The Guardian Advisory Board will hold regular meetings with researchers involved in the GuardiansCan project, offering feedback on, for example, the study design and contributing to the analysis of interviews with study participants.
About GuardiansCan
In high-income countries, most children diagnosed with cancer survive. However, in low-income countries like Tanzania, survival rates remain low. Research highlights significant barriers for guardians in these regions to adhere to the treatment and care protocols needed for their children's recovery.
The GuardiansCan project focuses on developing a mobile phone-based support for guardians of children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The project is a collaboration between U-CARE at Uppsala University (Sweden), Muhimbili National Hospital (Tanzania), and the University of Dodoma (Tanzania).