Challenges and opportunities in ovarian cancer care: A qualitative study of clinician perspectives from 24 low- and middle-income countries

Abstract

Background

Ovarian cancer poses a significant and growing burden, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where incidence and mortality are projected to increase by over 50 % by 2050. However, there is a critical lack of qualitative data on the challenges and opportunities for improvement in treatment and care for women with ovarian cancer in these regions. The aim of this research is to investigate clinicians’ perspectives on the matter in 24 LMICs.

Methods

As part of the multi-country observational Every Woman Study™ (EWS), semi-structured interviews were conducted with clinicians between June 2022 and June 2023. The interview guide was developed by the EWS LMIC Oversight Committee, including patients, clinicians and data specialists. Relational content and inductive thematic analyses were employed and categories synthesized using the World Health Organization’s six building blocks of the Health Systems Framework.

Results

24 clinicians (54 % female; 79 % gynaecologic oncologists, 8 % gynaecologists, 8 % clinical oncologists not specializing in gynaecological cancers, and 4 % clinical oncologists specializing in gynaecological cancers; 42 % from Africa, 29 % from Asia, 29 % from Latin America) participated. Six dominant themes were identified: “Poor Ovarian Cancer Data'', “Inequity in Access to Treatment”, “In-Country Inequities in Access to Care”, “Role of Cultural Norms on Women's Health”, “Increased Engagement of Men in Ovarian Cancer Control”, and “Advocacy and Education for Empowering Women”. Content analysis revealed system-level challenges such as delayed drug payments, lack of population-based cancer data, and limited imaging facilities. Patient-level challenges included disparities in access to specialists, limited medication affordability, poor symptom recognition, and reliance on alternative treatments.

Conclusions and policy summary

This study reveals the complexity of ovarian cancer treatment and care in LMICs and the need to mitigate disparities in these regions, underscoring the need for patient-centred, context specific and intersectoral strategies to be considered in cancer planning to improve ovarian cancer care quality and equity in LMICs.