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Experiences of cervical cancer patients in rural Ghana: An exploratory study.

ABSTRACT: Even though cervical cancer is quite a prevalent disease in Ghana, there is hardly any study on this disease. This paper sought to explore the experiences of cervical cancer patients living with the disease with emphasis on their knowledge about the disease before and after the diagnosis. Qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews with cervical cancer patients undergoing treatment in a specialised cancer treatment health facility in rural Ghana. Cervical cancer patients had inadequate knowledge about the disease, its symptoms, risk factors, treatment and prevention prior to being diagnosed of the disease. These patients were diagnosed late because they usually sought treatment elsewhere before reporting to health facilities. They experienced physical, psychological, economic and social disruptions in their daily lives, which affected their quality of life. It is evident that lack of knowledge about cervical cancer constitutes a threat to its prevention and treatment. Intensive health education through the mass media and community health promotion outreaches can be a sure way of creating adequate knowledge about cervical cancer in Ghana. Treatment and care for cervical cancer patients should incorporate counselling sessions, which should take into consideration the different levels of disruption the women experience and the implications for their wellbeing and management of the condition.

SUBMITTER: Binka C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5636100 | biostudies-other | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Experiences of cervical cancer patients in rural Ghana: An exploratory study.

Binka Charity C Doku David Teye DT Awusabo-Asare Kofi K

PloS one 20171011 10

Even though cervical cancer is quite a prevalent disease in Ghana, there is hardly any study on this disease. This paper sought to explore the experiences of cervical cancer patients living with the disease with emphasis on their knowledge about the disease before and after the diagnosis. Qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews with cervical cancer patients undergoing treatment in a specialised cancer treatment health facility in rural Ghana. Cervical cancer patients had inad ...[more]

PMID: 29020099

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Project description:BackgroundMalawi has the world's highest cervical cancer incidence and mortality due to high rate of HIV coupled with inadequate screening and treatment services. The country's cervical cancer control program uses visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) and cryotherapy, but screening is largely limited by poor access to facilities, high cost of cryotherapy gas, and high loss-to-follow-up. To overcome these limitations, we implemented a community-based screen-and-treat pilot program with VIA and thermocoagulation. Through a qualitative study, we explore the experiences of women who underwent this community-based pilot screening program.MethodsWe implemented our pilot program in rural Malawi and conducted an exploratory qualitative sub-study. We conducted in-depth interviews with women who were treated with thermocoagulation during the program. We used semi-structured interviews to explore screen-and-treat experience, acceptability of the program and attitudes towards self-sampling for HPV testing as an alternative screening method. Content analysis was conducted using NVIVO v12.ResultsBetween July - August 2017, 408 participants eligible for screening underwent VIA screening. Thirty participants had VIA positive results, of whom 28 underwent same day thermocoagulation. We interviewed 17 of the 28 women who received thermocoagulation. Thematic saturation was reached at 17 interviews. All participants reported an overall positive experience with the community-based screen-and-treat program. Common themes were appreciation for bringing screening directly to their villages, surprise at the lack of discomfort, and the benefits of access to same day treatment immediately following abnormal screening. Negative experiences were rare and included discomfort during speculum exam, long duration of screening and challenges with complying with postprocedural abstinence. Most participants felt that utilizing self-collected HPV testing could be acceptable for screening in their community.ConclusionsOur exploratory qualitative sub-study demonstrated that the community-based screen-and-treat with VIA and thermocoagulation was widely accepted. Participants valued the accessible, timely, and painless thermocoagulation treatment and reported minimal side effects. Future considerations for reaching rural women can include community-based follow-up, cervical cancer education for male partners and self-sampling for HPV testing.

Project description:BackgroundSince 2015, pharmacists have been integrating into English general practices and more recently into primary care networks. General practice-based pharmacists provide a range of patient-facing services, such as medication reviews, management of long-term conditions and minor ailments, prescribing duties and answering queries over the telephone. Literature reports patients' satisfaction with general practice-based pharmacists' services, however, previous research captured only limited experiences. The aim of the current study was to pursue an extensive exploration of patients' experiences of pharmacists in general practice.MethodsGeneral practice-based pharmacists, working in practices in West London, Surrey and Berkshire, handed invitation packs to patients seen during consultations. Patients that wanted to take part in the study were invited to undertake a qualitative, in-depth, face-to-face, semi-structured interview within the practice with which each patient was registered. Interviews lasted from 15 min to more than 1 h and were audio-recorded. Recruitment continued until data saturation. Audio-recordings were transcribed verbatim and transcripts analysed thematically.ResultsTwenty participants were interviewed. Four themes were discerned: awareness ("I had been coming to this practice for 24 years and I didn't know that there was a pharmacist"); accessibility ("People ring for a GP [general practitioner] appointment … it's Monday and they [receptionist] tells you 'We can slot you in on Friday' … with a pharmacist on board, they can [instantly] look at you"); interactions ("I've always had a really good interaction with them [pharmacists] and they listen and they take on board what I'm trying to say"); and feedback ("It's easier [to collect feedback instantly] because I could have forgotten half of what they [pharmacists] have told me in an hour or so's time").ConclusionsFindings indicate that pharmacists' integration into general practices could improve accessibility to, and the quality of, care received. The findings will assist policy development to provide general practice-based pharmacists' services as per patients' needs.

Project description:ObjectiveTo explore the experiences of cancer caregivers who live in rural Australia and travel to a metropolitan cancer health service to access cancer treatment.DesignA qualitative study using semistructured, audio-recorded interviews conducted between December 2017 and July 2018 with caregivers and social workers. Thematic analysis using interpretative descriptive techniques performed on textual interview data within a critical realist paradigm to develop understanding of rural caregivers' lived experiences.SettingParticipants were from rural areas attending a metropolitan cancer centre in Australia and social workers.Participants21 caregivers (16 female) of people with cancer living in rural Australia within a minimum distance of 100?km from the metropolitan cancer centre where they access treatment, and five social workers employed at a metropolitan cancer service with experience of working with rural patients and caregivers.ResultsThematic analysis developed two overarching themes: theme 1: caregiving in the rural setting describes the unique circumstance in which caregiving for a person with cancer takes place in the rural setting at considerable distance from the cancer service where the person receives treatment. This is explored in three categories: 'Rural community and culture', 'Life adjustments' and 'Available supports'. Theme 2: accessing metropolitan cancer services captures the multiplicity of tasks and challenges involved in organising and coordinating the journey to access cancer treatment in a metropolitan hospital, which is presented in the following categories: 'Travel', 'Accommodation' and 'Health system navigation'.ConclusionsCaregivers who live in rural areas face significant challenges when confronting geographic isolation between their rural home environment and the metropolitan setting, where the patient accessed cancer treatment. There is a need for healthcare services to identify this group to develop feasible and sustainable ways to provide interventions that have the best chance of assisting rural caregivers in supporting the patient while maintaining their own health and well-being.

Project description:BackgroundRoutine screening for frailty at admission by nurses may be useful to detect geriatric risks and problems at an early stage. However, the added value of this screening is not clear yet. Information about the opinions and attitudes of nurses towards this screening is also lacking. As they have a crucial role in conducting this screening, an exploratory study was performed to examine hospital nurses' opinions and perspectives about this screening and how it influences their daily work.MethodsA qualitative, exploratory approach was employed, using semi-structured interviews with 13 nurses working on different general medical wards (surgical and internal medicine) in three Dutch hospitals. Frailty screening had been implemented for several years in these hospitals.ResultsThe participating nurses reported that frailty screening can be useful to structure their work, create more awareness of frail older patients and as starting point for pro-active nursing care. At the same time, they assess their clinical view as more important than the results of a standard screening tool. The nurses hardly used the overall screening scores, but were particularly interested in information regarding specific items, such as delirium or fall risk. Screening results are partly embedded systematically and in daily nursing care, e.g., in team briefings or during transfer of patients to other wards. The majority of the nurses had received little training about the background of frailty screening and the use of screening tools.ConclusionsMost nurses stated that frailty screening tools are helpful in daily practice. However, nurses did not use the frailty screening tools in the referred way; tools were particularly used to evaluate patients on separate items of the tool instead of the summative score of the tool. When frailty screening tools are implemented in daily practice, training needs to be focused on. Additional research in this field is necessary to gain more insight into nurses' opinions on frailty screening.

Dataset Information

Experiences of cervical cancer patients in rural Ghana: An exploratory study.

Publications

Experiences of cervical cancer patients in rural Ghana: An exploratory study.

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