MATITI YANGU - Breast Cancer Early Detection and Diagnostic Linkage

MATITI YANGU addresses a different point in women's cancer care: the delay between noticing a breast concern and reaching appropriate diagnostic assessment. Women may recognize a symptom late, be uncertain about its significance or face a sequence of disconnected referrals before diagnosis. The project asks how a multilevel package can make early detection and diagnostic linkage more reliable within Kenyan primary-care and referral systems.

The study is part of the BREAKTHROUGH implementation-science programme and combines human-centred design with an optimization strategy. MATITI YANGU uses the Multiphase Optimization Strategy and factorial logic to determine which intervention components add enough value to justify their cost and complexity. Candidate elements include communication, digital/mobile support, patient navigation and primary-care interventions that address barriers at different levels.

The project's significance lies in treating early detection as a pathway rather than a public-awareness message. Women need understandable information and confidence to seek assessment; primary-care teams need practical support for evaluation and referral; and diagnostic services need a dependable way to receive and follow referrals. Mobile health can help coordinate the pathway but cannot replace clinical assessment. MATITI YANGU therefore brings behavioural, clinical and system questions into one implementation programme. Its goal is not the largest possible intervention package, but an optimized set of components that can improve movement from concern to diagnosis while remaining feasible and sustainable in routine care.