Poster Presentation 2025 Joint Meeting of the COSA ASM and IPOS Congress

Building Foundations: Strengthening Paediatric Cancer and Palliative Care Capacity in Papua New Guinea (126069)

Jordana K McLoone 1 2 , Gwenda Anga 3 , Claire E Wakefield 1 4 , Dinisha Govender 5 , Sandra Staffieri 6 7 , Donna Drew 2 , Jayne Harrison 8 , Ben Felmingham 8 , Benjamin Daur 3 , Julie Cayrol 8 , Trisha Soosay Raj 9 , Marianne Phillips 10 , Michael Sullivan 8
  1. Discipline of Paediatrics & Child Health, School of Clinical Medicine, UNSW Medicine & Health, Randwick Clinical Campus, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  2. Behavioural Sciences Unit, Kids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children's Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  3. Port Moresby General Hospital, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
  4. Division of Quality of Life and Pediatric Palliative Care, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University and Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, Palo Alto, California, USA
  5. Children’s Hospital Westmead, Sydney, NSW , Australia
  6. Department of Ophthalmology, Royal Children’s Hospital, Parkville, Melbourne , Victoria, Australia
  7. Centre for Eye Research Australia, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, and University of Melbourne,, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  8. Children's Cancer Centre, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  9. Queensland Children’s Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
  10. Perth Children’s Hospital, Perth, WA, Australia

Objectives/Purpose: Childhood cancer outcomes and survival rates in Papua New Guinea (PNG) remain suboptimal due to sociocultural factors, diagnostic delays, fragile health infrastructure, and an acute shortage of trained and specialist health personnel. Recognising the urgent need for capacity building, we implemented a structured educational and training program to equip healthcare professionals with practical knowledge and skills in paediatric oncology and palliative care, with the aim of building clinical capacity across the country.

Sample and Setting:  A multidisciplinary team including Australian paediatric palliative care, oncology, nursing, pharmacy, and orthoptics specialists, partnered with PNG-based healthcare leaders to co-deliver a week-long, face-to-face training program. Fifty-two participants from 11 PNG provinces attended, including paediatricians, nurses, allied health professionals, and pastoral care workers.

Procedures: The training curriculum comprised core topics in paediatric oncology and palliative care, including symptom management and psychosocial care, with interactive sessions specifically adapted to PNG’s unique healthcare challenges. Post-training surveys evaluated the program’s perceived effectiveness and identified strategic priorities for ongoing system-level support, education and workforce development.

Results: Participant feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with 96% rating the training as “good” or “very good.” Critical challenges identified through qualitative analysis included limited availability of trained personnel, insufficient multidisciplinary collaboration, and the psychological burden experienced by healthcare providers in high-stress, resource-limited settings. Systemic barriers, including insufficient access to resources and institutional support, were identified as obstacles to apply new skills within clinical practice.

Conclusions and Clinical Implications: This initiative demonstrates the feasibility and impact of intensive, context-adapted educational programs for improving paediatric palliative and oncology care in low-resource settings such as PNG. It has informed the development of locally relevant training pathways and informed long-term capacity-building strategies. Future efforts will focus on the integration of sustainable training programs, expansion of multidisciplinary involvement and embedding of palliative care into routine paediatric oncology services.