Topic: Ministry of Health take many health issue seriously such as breast cancer. Each year, MOH has several programs to reach community and rise awareness for people .
– Create initiatives or a plan that you believe would help to minimizes the number of cases in Saudi Arabia
– how privet and public institution can help to achieve the shared goal?
– Share the latest statistics regarding this issue globally.
Solution
Breast Cancer Awareness
Health systems undergo rapid changes in a bid to conform to new challenges of the changing disease patterns and demographics. Despite low breast cancer incidences in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, it is important for the country to prepare for the foreseeable challenge of increase in breast cancer due to the growth and aging of population.
Minimizing the cases of breast cancer in the KSA requires good and involving initiatives. Access to screening mammography programs that detect early invasive cancer would contribute to higher chances of successful treatment of breast cancer in KSA (Al Asmri et al., 2019). On top of this, a patient-centered community health needs assessment of breast cancer program plan is important. This assessment tool should have an approach that is culturally appropriate and comprehensive. The patient-centered operations approach would guarantee breast cancer service development projects. For instance, investing in nurses in the primary health care centers who usually serve the larger general population (Al Asmri et al., 2019). They influence the women’s behavior and disseminate the cancer awareness in the community (Yousuf et al., 2012). From a study of the PHCC nurses in KSA, there is need for a continued training on the Cancer awareness for the nurses to increase their knowledge and practice.
An engagement of both government entities and non-government organization (NGO) in a private-public partnership can help minimize breast cancer cases in KSA. With the partnership, the breast cancer servicers would strengthen in having a comprehensive database which enhance evaluation of the cancer programs (Mandil et al., 2017). Also, there would be an improvement in the quality and standards of the services offered as well as an improvement in the breast cancer research and studies.
In both the developed and developing countries, breast cancer is the most popular form of cancer in women. According to WHO, approximately 2.1 million women are impacted each year. Over the last 5-year duration, the breast cancer cases increased by a rate of 0.3% per year compared to other years (DeSantis et al., 2019). In contrast to this, the number of breast cancer deaths continue to decline falling with an approximate 40% from 1989 to 2017(DeSantis et al., 2019). This is in proportion of 375,000 breast cancer deaths averted. The rates of breast cancer cases are increasing globally and thus there is need for early detection.
References
Al Asmri, M., Almalki, M. J., Fitzgerald, G., & Clark, M. (2019). The public healthcare system and primary care services in Saudi Arabia: a system in transition. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal. https://doi.org/10.26719/emhj.19.049
DeSantis, C. E., Ma, J., Gaudet, M. M., Newman, L. A., Miller, K. D., Goding Sauer, A., Jemal, A., & Siegel, R. L. (2019). Breast cancer statistics, 2019. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 69(6), 438-451. https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21583
Mandil, A., ElFeky, S., & Rashidian, A. (2017). Assessment of World Health Organization Collaborating Centres in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 23(10), 711-714. https://doi.org/10.26719/2017.23.10.711
Yousuf, S. A., Al Amoudi, S. M., Nicolas, W., Banjar, H. E., & Salem, S. M. (2012). Do Saudi Nurses in Primary Health Care Centres have Breast Cancer Knowledge to Promote Breast Cancer Awareness? Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention, 13(9), 4459-4464. https://doi.org/10.7314/apjcp.2012.13.9.4459