SIOP Global Health Network (GHN) addresses the unmet needs of children with cancer by fostering practical guidance for delivering cancer care for health professionals caring for children living in low-resource settings.

A recently concluded  survey identified a strong demand for disease-specific learning and guidance on treatment guidelines. Similarly, the post-session survey of the SIOP CEDAR project in collaboration with the International Pediatric Association (IPA) showed audience interest in dedicated learning sessions on specific childhood cancers.

Opportunities to discuss clinically challenging scenarios or new approaches to childhood cancer treatment and survivorship surveillance with experts from or experience in settings with low resources will help to close the gap caused by the severe lack of specialized pediatric oncology training for professionals in low-resource settings with unique challenges.

Considering these needs, the SIOP GHN launched a new initiative titled Disease-Specific Portal for Learning & Networking (acronym: DiSPLeN) to provide additional learning opportunities for SIOP members.  This will comprise a GHN-led learning forum on various aspects of care directed but not limited to the WHO Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer Six Indexed Cancers.

Various learning sessions on case-based discussion, diagnosis and referral pathways/Access to Care, and advanced diagnostics and therapeutic modalities will be hosted by the DiSPLeN team.

SIOP Members with significant experience and expertise (disease experts) will be invited to participate in DiSPLeN programming. DiSPLeN will potentially enhance SIOP membership engagement and contribute to the professional development of SIOP GHN members and other key stakeholders.

At the end of the pilot phase, the matrix including participation and feedback of the participants will be analyzed to design future activities. The ultimate goal is to expand the project to non-English languages (Spanish, French, Russian and Chinese) to engage global representation and collaboration with related programs from SIOP and SIOP Continental Branches  (e.g. SIOPE and TeLeo), and to actively interact with key global stakeholders and childhood cancer initiatives (e.g. WHO GICC and SIOP/St. Jude ARIA Project).

Please email us at info@siop-online.org