INCTR 8th Meeting proposal

PLENARY SESSION ON OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FOR CANCER

By 2010, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has estimated that cancer will become the leading cause of death in the world. The International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the WHO, has estimated that by 2030, the global burden of cancer could be as high as 17 million new cases per annum. An increasing fraction of this burden of cancer – presently more than half of all cancer and 70% of cancer deaths – will fall on the developing countries as their populations continue to expand and age and epidemiological transitions result in a reduction in the burden of disease caused by infectious diseases. This rapidly increasing importance of cancer as a public health problem has been recognized by the World Health Assembly, in resolution WHA58.2 of May 2005.

A major obstacle to effective cancer treatment and cancer control in developing countries is the deficiencies in human capital and material resources and the lack of scope for capacity development at both quantitative and qualitative levels. The most critical of these is human capital, and for this reason, education of the cancer workforce must be a high priority in national cancer control planning. OERC is dedicated to creating improved opportunities for education of the cancer workforce at all levels as summarized in its mission statement. Although global in scope, it will emphasize cancer in developing countries, where the needs are greatest.

OERC MISSION STATEMENT

 To enhance knowledge sharing between countries on cancer control strategies
 To enhance the capacities of physicians, nurses and care givers in developing countries to treat cancer patients
 To make available cutting edge research information on cancer care in an easily accessible format at no cost on a worldwide scale
 To make available latest clinical trials information to cancer patients and their physicians
 To put into action what was proposed in the latest WHO report on cancer for knowledge sharing
 To contribute to the development of a research infrastructure and a research ethos for cancer care and prevention at a global level

INCTR is a non-governmental organization dedicated to cancer control in developing countries through the development of infrastructure for cancer treatment and research. A key to improving capacity is education, which, in addition to specific educational programs, is an integral element of INCTR’s long-term collaborative projects relating to prevention, early detection, treatment and palliation. The close integration of research with patient care also results in immediate benefits to patients or individuals at high risk for developing cancer. For these reasons, INCTR, with i-Bharthi Health, will play an important role in OERC, particularly with respect to defining the educational needs of cancer health workers in developing countries and identifying optimal educational tools, both available via internet, and distributed in other formats.

A major event in INCTR’s calendar is its Annual Meeting on cancer control in developing countries – from henceforth to be held biennially. The next (Eighth) meeting will take place in Antalya, Turkey from 22-24th March 2009. Approximately 300 people from some 40 countries are expected to attend this meeting, which will include keynote lectures, reports from INCTR programs, educational/scientific sessions, workshops, and “Meet the Expert” sessions. It was felt by the OERC steering committee that this meeting would provide an ideal launching platform for OERC. The concept of Open Educational Resources will be presented as a keynote lecture (speaker to be identified) to be immediately followed by a special plenary session entitled: Education for Cancer Professionals. The final presentation in this session and the ensuing discussion would be dedicated to OERC. This would permit the concept of OERC to be presented to a large number of cancer professionals from across the world, and provide an opportunity for feedback from potential users as well as contributors to OERC early in the OERC program. Since this session will be early in the meeting, there will be ample subsequent opportunities to discuss plans. Both information on Open Educational Resources and a questionnaire soliciting the views of meeting participants would be included in the conference package. In addition, a booth could be established where specific information could be provided, both about ongoing Hewlett programs, and about OERC. A booth of this kind could also permit on-line access to the proposed OERC website for demonstration purposes, and could provide a focal point for individual discussions about OERC with interested parties.

INCTR 8th Meeting Educational Session

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