PURPOSE The Africa Cancer Research and Control ECHO is a virtual community of practice and knowledge dissemination platform for cancer professionals. Each year, the steering committee completes an evaluation to elicit feedback and inform continuous program improvement. The 2020-2021 evaluation included for the first time a qualitative component, allowing documentation of concrete utilization of knowledge gained from the Africa Cancer ECHO to advance cancer control efforts. METHODS Participants were invited to complete a survey about satisfaction, knowledge acquisition, knowledge application, and outcomes of the Africa Cancer ECHO. In addition, six steering committee members completed semi-structured interviews with a focus on program outcomes. RESULTS A total of 226 unique people from over 40 organizations participated in the Africa Cancer ECHO during 2020-2021, with 19 sessions hosted on topics across the cancer control continuum. Twenty-two participants representing nine countries and multiple sectors of cancer research and control responded to the survey. They reported participating to gain knowledge (57%), network (21%) and strongly agreed that sessions were relevant and engaging (100%). Reported limitations included obstacles of time (74%), technology (13%) and limited opportunities to engage with partners and participants (50%). Participants applied the knowledge gained in various ways including: adding survivorship to their National Cancer Control Plans (for the first time); adapting training materials to initiate a patient navigation program, partnering to strengthen brachytherapy capacity at the national level and collaboratively conducting a situational analysis of cancer survivorship in the Africa region. CONCLUSION The Africa Cancer ECHO provides a relevant and engaging platform which encourages community and the exchange of socio-culturally adapted best practices in cancer research and control in the African region. The mixed methods evaluation approach has deepened understanding of how knowledge exchanged in the ECHO sessions is utilized and applied. More targeted recruitment and retention, as well as facilitation of collaborations beyond the sessions will further strengthen this community.

e18577 Background: In Nigeria, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in part due to disparities in education, access to screening, and access to treatment. In Nigeria, the HPV vaccine is planned for introduction into the public sector but will not be mandated. Given the preventable nature of the disease and need for public awareness, we developed an easy-to-understand teaching tool, the Global Oncology (GO) Comic Book focused on both general cancer education and about cervical cancer and HPV vaccination. Methods: The GO Comic Book is set in modern-day Lagos, Nigeria and aims to dispel myths and misconceptions associated with cancer in general and cervical cancer in particular. After developing the comic book, we developed a teaching guide and a plan for a pilot distribution of the comic book to students in Nigeria. In late 2019, GO and programmatic partners including the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), Cancer Education and Advocacy Foundation of Nigeria (CEAFON) and Panaramic Comics (based in Lagos, Nigeria) successfully conducted a pilot distribution of the GO Comic Book to nearly 5,000 students representing 18 junior secondary schools in Lagos and Rivers states. The comic books were distributed as part of 12 school assemblies which featured interactive, live-readings of the comic book by students and Nigerian physician volunteers. Pre-/post-tests with 9 questions were administered to a subset of the students (N = 202) to assess change in knowledge before and after the educational assemblies and data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: The response rate of the 202 administered surveys was 98% (N = 198) with 193 female (97.5%) and 5 male (2.5%) respondents. Participants were an average of 11.2 years of age. All multiple-choice-type assessment items showed shifts to better-informed responses following the educational intervention. The item with the highest positive-percent change as assessed in the post survey queried: “what types of virus can cause cervical cancer?” (pre-test = 25.2%, post-test = 68.2%). The table below shows the cervical cancer related questions that were asked and the proportion of correct answers. Conclusions: The GO comic book in conjunction with school assemblies, improved the knowledge regarding cervical cancer causes and risk factors in Nigerian school children. Findings highlight the lack of knowledge regarding cervical cancer among the young population eligible for HPV vaccination, and describe an effective educational strategy in this setting.[Table: see text]

PURPOSE As access to cancer care expands in low-income countries, developing tools to educate patients is paramount. We took a picture booklet, which was initially developed by the nonprofit Global Oncology for Malawi and Rwanda, and adapted it for use in Nigeria. The primary goal was to assess acceptability and provide education. The secondary goals were (1) to describe the collaboration, (2) to assess knowledge gained from the intervention, (3) to assess patient understanding of their therapy intent, and (4) to explore patient's experiences via qualitative analysis. METHODS We piloted the original English booklet at a single site and requested feedback from patients and providers. The booklet was updated; translated into Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, and Pidgin English; and used at three additional sites. For the three-site cohort, we collected basic demographics, pretest and post-test assessing content in the booklet, and performed a qualitative analysis. RESULTS The original booklet was widely acceptable and recommended by patients at site one (n = 31) and by providers (N = 26) representing all four sites. In the three-site cohort (n = 103), 94% of patients recommended the booklet. An immediate post-test focusing on when patients should present to care showed a statistically significant improvement in one of the seven questions. Fifty-one percent of the patients (n = 103) knew their treatment intent (curative v palliative). Qualitative analysis highlighted that the patient's thoughts on cancer are dominated by negative associations, although curability and modern therapy are also frequently cited. CONCLUSION We adapted an educational booklet to a novel context and had it delivered by local partners. The booklet was widely recommended to future patients. The booklet had an impact on patient's knowledge of cancer treatment, potentially allowing for decreased abandonment.