Brief report: Global health initiatives and breast oncology capacity-building in Africa.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Global health initiatives provide exciting opportunities for capacity-building in low- and middle-income countries but data regarding how African clinicians characterize the most effective partnerships are lacking. METHODS: We surveyed attendees at two "Breast Cancer in Africa" symposia sponsored through a surgeon-led global breast cancer research collaborative. Respondents ranked their preferences for needs from American global health partnerships. RESULTS: 399 African attendees responded (170 at the 2017 Ghana conference; 229 at the 2018 Ethiopia conference). Physicians comprised 41.1% of respondents; nurses 20.1% and medical students 27.6%. Ancillary hospital staff comprised the remaining 11.2%. Among clinicians, 75.7% ranked educational/training programs or donation of medical supplies as the highest-priority needs compared to only 20.4% ranking direct monetary support as the highest-priority need (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Our survey study found that African clinicians prioritize training programs and donation of medical/hospital supplies above direct monetary support as their highest-value needs from global health initiatives.