Improve Cancer Care for 270 Children in Myanmar

World Child Cancer improve diagnosis, treatment and support for children with cancer, and their families, in the developing world. We achieve this via our twinning partnerships between hospitals and healthcare professionals in the developing world and those in the developed world. These partnerships, together with staff training and mentoring, provide valuable expertise which builds the capacity and knowledge of doctors and nurses in-country.

During a recent twinning visit in February, two paediatric oncology nurse specialists from Boston Children’s Hospital (USA), Erin Gordon, and Kimberly Shepard, travelled to Myanmar to roll out a nutrition programme at Yangon Children’s Hospital (YCH). This followed an initial visit last June where they assessed the nutritional support available for paediatric oncology patients at the hospital, and planned a nutrition support programme.

Children undergoing treatment for cancer are at an increased risk for developing malnutrition. In Myanmar where around 30% of children suffer from chronic malnutrition, those with cancer are at significant risk for poor growth and poor response to treatment, and are less likely to survive. Therefore, this nutrition programme, piloted at YCH, will have significant impact on children being treated for cancer at the hospital.

The following activities were undertaken during the February visit to YCH:

• A ‘snapshot’ review of the data recorded for 27 current patients was undertaken to assess the current nutritional situation. The review found that just 22% of these children were not suffering from, or at risk of malnutrition. This highlighted the urgent need for a nutrition programme at YCH to help children cope with treatment.
• Training was provided to YCH’s newly recruited Nutrition Specialist on paediatric oncology nutrition management, nutrition assessment and documentation, and nutrition counselling and parent/guardian education.
• Training in measuring and documenting malnutrition was also delivered to YCH’s childhood cancer nursing staff and the Nutrition Specialist. 16 medics were trained; mostly nurses from YCH, as well as a physician and six nursing students. Two nurses also attended from Mandalay Children’s Hospital (MCH), a hospital that is also supported by World Child Cancer. Following the training, the nurses demonstrated improved skills and competency during guided and independent practice.
• The Boston nurses also supported the identification of local food vendors who could provide nutritional items (foods, beverages, etc.) for the packages for the children.
• Nursing education and training sessions were conducted over one week. Nurses unable to attend the formal education sessions were taught using “Peer to Peer” methods throughout the week under the guidance of the nutrition specialist and Boston nurses.

The nurses from Boston will continue to support YCH staff through monthly calls. It is hoped that we will be able to use the learnings from this initiative to run similar nutrition programmes in other hospitals, including MCH.

It is with your generosity that vital twinning visits such as this are possible. Thank you for your hugely valuable support.

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