Abstract 27: Trends of Cancer Patients Seeking Care in Makueni County Referral Hospital during the COVID19 Lockdown in Kenya

Abstract

Abstract Purpose: Kenya has few qualified health care workers and facilities that are dedicated to cancer treatment most of which are located in the urban centers. Patients living in rural areas are expected to travel to urban areas for treatment. However, this is obstructed by poor roads, high levels of poverty, packed cancer wards, and lack of a place to stay in the city depriving the patients of timely and appropriate medical treatment. We outline the number of patients seeking cancer treatment care from a rural County Referral Hospital in Makueni County in Kenya during the COVID19 lockdown season that prohibited the movement of people in and out of Nairobi and Mombasa. Methods: International Cancer Institute, a non-governmental organization working in sub-Saharan Africa and based in Eldoret Kenya established partnerships with Makueni County, to offer cancer care to patients at the County Referral Hospital. Patients attending the clinic were registered every month and their treatment history taken every time they sought treatment at the clinic for their first visit and subsequent visits. The trend of the number of patients over the lockdown season was plotted using a line graph. Results: The observed number of new patients visiting the clinic in the year 2020 increased from Jan; 8, Feb; 11, Mar; 19, Apr; 15, May; 22, Jun; 19, July; 31, Aug; 16, Sept; 12, Oct; 17, Nov; 7, Dec; 4 patients respectively. The subsequent patient visits rose from Jan; 10, Feb; 20, Mar; 37, Apr; 41, May; 45, Jun; 43, July; 90, Aug; 40, Sept; 30, Oct; 61, Nov; 32, Dec; 19 patients respectively. Conclusion: The travel ban influenced the number of patients seen at the Makueni County Referral hospital; more patients sought treatment at the oncology during the lockdown period than any other period of the clinic in the year 2020. Citation Format: Stephen Karuru Maina, Edwin Odoyo, Stephen Mwatha, Raphael Musyoki, Gavin Orangi, Emmah Achieng, Chite Asirwa. Trends of Cancer Patients Seeking Care in Makueni County Referral Hospital during the COVID19 Lockdown in Kenya [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 9th Annual Symposium on Global Cancer Research; Global Cancer Research and Control: Looking Back and Charting a Path Forward; 2021 Mar 10-11. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2021;30(7 Suppl):Abstract nr 27.