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St. Jude and World Health Organization are creating a platform that will transform access to childhood cancer medicines around the world.
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Global Scholars Projects: Liliana Vásquez Ponce, MD, MSc
Other Global Scholars :
Location
Lima, Peru
Implementation Period
2023-2025 (2023 Wave)
Scholars Project
Self-efficacy among Parents and Caregivers of Children with Cancer and Febrile Neutropenia in Peru
Current Role
Technical Officer for Childhood Cancer, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)
About the Global Scholars Project
This project addressed a critical gap in childhood cancer care in Peru: the pre-hospital delay in febrile neutropenia, which contributes significantly to mortality. The study focused on understanding the self-efficacy of parents and caregivers in recognizing fever and seeking timely emergency care. Using a qualitative methodology, semi-structured interviews with parents and caregivers of children with cancer who had experienced FN were conducted. Thematic analysis was applied to identify barriers and facilitators to timely care.
Building on these insights, the project developed a draft self-efficacy questionnaire tailored to parents of children with cancer and febrile neutropenia and designed communication materials to improve parental knowledge and confidence. The findings contribute to the evidence base for interventions that can shorten pre-hospital delays, improve survival and strengthen the alignment of Peru’s pediatric oncology care with the World Health Organization’s Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer. The project also generated international visibility, through knowledge dissemination, ensuring that knowledge extends beyond Peru to inform low- and medium-income country contexts globally.
Publications
Project Assets
About the Scholar
Liliana Vásquez is a pediatric oncologist with extensive experience in clinical care, research and global child health. She graduated from medical school in 2006 from Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Lima, Peru, and completed her pediatric oncology training in 2012 at Universidad de San Martín de Porres, Lima, Peru. She earned a Master of Medical Research from Universidad de San Martín de Porres in 2018 and received additional training in clinical research from Harvard Medical School.
She currently serves as a technical officer for childhood cancer at the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization. Previously, she served as president of the Latin American Society of Pediatric Oncology, contributing to regional leadership and collaboration in childhood cancer care.
Vásquez has received numerous international honors recognizing her contributions to pediatric oncology and global health.
“Not all the problems are inside the hospital. And that is something that perhaps clinicians like my colleagues — or myself before this new journey in public health — we only see what is in the hospital. ... You’re very worried about your patients. You want to give them the good treatment, the best protocol, the best chemotherapy. But when the patient goes out of the hospital, you don’t know what is happening with them, if they have food, or lodging, or if the family has to abandon the treatment, or if the kid has an infection.”