Promoting Early Detection of Breast Cancer in Rural Rwanda: Impact of Community Health Worker and Nurse Training (BCED)

Mass General Brigham

Status: Completed

Conditions: Breast Cancer

Treatments: Other: Experimental: Training, Phase 2; Other: Experimental: Training, Phase 1

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03919682

2014P002688

Details and patient eligibility

About

This project proposes a pilot intervention in Burera District to train rural Rwandan community health workers (CHWs) in breast awareness, and to train primary care nurses at rural health centers in the assessment and management of breast complaints, with a focus on when patients must be urgently referred for more advanced evaluation. The project will randomize health centers to receive the intervention and will evaluate the impact of these trainings on nurse and CHW knowledge and skills. In order to help Rwanda prepare for national early detection efforts, the investigators will also assess the impact of these trainings on patient volume at the health center level, and visits and further diagnostic testing at the district hospital level. The investigators will also examine the impact on the length of diagnostic delays experienced by patients with a breast problem. Among those patients diagnosed with breast cancer, the investigators will also assess their stage at diagnosis.

Enrollment: 1,203 patients

Sex: All

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Community health workers or health center nurses affiliated with a designated intervention health center
• Interested in participating

Exclusion Criteria

• Not interested in participating
• Not available for training

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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1,203 participants in 3 patient groups

Training, Phase 1

Experimental group

Description:

Community health workers and nurses affiliated with 7 health centers received the breast cancer early detection trainings in April-May 2015

Treatment:

Other: Experimental: Training, Phase 1

Training, Phase 2

Experimental group

Description:

Community health workers and nurses affiliated with 7 health centers received the breast cancer early detection trainings in November-December 2015

Treatment:

Other: Experimental: Training, Phase 2

Control

No Intervention group

Description:

6 health centers served as controls and did not receive training during the study period