Inaugural Conference on Implementation Science for Cancer Control in Africa (ISC2-Africa)

PROJECT SUMMARY According to the World Health Organization, morbidity and mortality from non-communicable diseases in Africa will surpass that of communicable diseases by 2030. While Africa faces several challenges in controlling cancer, the field of Implementation Science (IS) offers a ray of hope for cancer control in Africa. Defined as the ?study of methods to promote the adoption and integration of evidence-based practices, interventions, and policies into routine health care and public health settings to improve the impact on population health?, IS is crucial to address the disproportionate burden of cancer in Africa. Unfortunately, Africa does not have the much needed research workforce for IS. The African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC), African Behavioral Research (ABeR) Center, Africa Cancer ECHO, and International Cancer Research Partnership (ICRP) have partnered to create an Implementation Science for Cancer Control in Africa (ISC2- Africa) Network. We are proposing an ISC2-Africa inaugural conference to be held biennially as a pre- conference to the AORTIC International Cancer Conference. The primary goal of the ISC2-Africa conference is to elevate IS scholarship in Africa. In addition, we will develop an African IS workforce that will bring unique perspective to addressing cancer control in Africa as well as effectively deliver and integrate cancer control interventions within the Africa health care systems and communities. Utilizing an innovative framework, the conference will foster: (1) the mobilization of resources within African countries for Afro-centric IS strategies; (2) partnership with key stakeholders for effective and culturally appropriate IS research; and (3) the development and successful implementation of IS research across Africa. A cornerstone of our conference -- and we believe the most innovative aspect-- is that the final conference agenda is based on the needs identified by cancer scientists and clinicians in Africa through a SWOT Analysis survey.