Abstract:
Introduction
Children in low- and middle-income countries face barriers to timely access cancer care. Between
January and June 2023, an awareness campaign in Bungoma County, Kenya, aimed to address this
issue. This study describes sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of children diagnosed with
cancer after the campaign, explores health-seeking behaviors and delays, and compares cancer referrals
pre- and post- campaign.
Methods
Parental interviews were conducted for all children newly diagnosed with cancer from Bungoma County
at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital between January 2023 and December 2024 using semi-structured
questionnaires. Hospital registry data from January 2014 to December 2024 were analyzed to compare
referrals pre- and post-campaign.
Results
Following the campaign, 30 children were diagnosed with cancer (40% female, median age 5.5 years).
Diagnoses included hematological cancers (23%), solid tumors (60%), rare solid tumors (7%), and brain
tumors (10%), with 57% of solid tumors presenting at advanced stages. Delays were substantial: median
patient-, physician-, diagnosis-, treatment-, health system- and total delay were 30, 104, 114, 6, 114 and
146 days respectively. Barriers included use of traditional medicine, cultural beliefs, nancial strain, travel
costs, lack of insurance, income loss, and fear. Mean annual referral rate showed no notable change
(14.5 [7.6] pre- vs. 15 [0.7] post-campaign).
Conclusion
The campaign did not increase cancer diagnoses, highlighting ongoing barriers in timely accessing
childhood cancer care. Addressing these barriers is essential for improving access to childhood cancer
care. Factors such as healthcare worker strikes, supply shortages, and treatment seeking at other
facilities may have contributed to the lower-than-expected numbers
