TY - JOUR
T1 - Fear, faith and finances
T2 - health literacy experiences of English and Swahili speaking women newly diagnosed with breast and cervical cancer
AU - Kassaman, Dinah
AU - Mushani, Tayreez
AU - Kiraithe, Peterson
AU - Brownie, Sharon
AU - Barton-Burke, Margaret
N1 - Funding Information:
A grant funded study by CRDFGLOBAL Beginning Investigator Grant for Catalytic Research (BIG CAT) Initiative.
Funding Information:
The social system supporting cancer patients is of great significance in ensuring the patient access health care and pulls through the treatment process. Close family members like husbands, children, in-laws and siblings were well noted to have formed the patient support system. They offered emotional and financial support to cancer patients. This helps to improve the patient’s emotional well-being [33].
Funding Information:
This work was supported by CRDFGlobal BIG CAT, funded by U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Cancer Institute (NCI). Dinah Kassaman is a PhD student at Salford University and acknowledges the support of her supervisors Professor Alison Brettle and Dr Gaynor Bagnall. The authors would acknowledge the women who agreed to participate in this study. Dinah Kassaman, Tayreez Mushani, Peterson Karani acknowledge the Aga Khan University School of Nursing and Midwifery for supporting this work. This work was supported in part by NIH/NCI Cancer Center Support Grant No. P30CA008748-53.
Publisher Copyright:
© the authors.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Breast and cervical cancer are among the leading causes of cancer-related deaths globally. In Kenya, delayed presentation and diagnosis contribute to breast and cervical cancer mortality. The Kenyan government acknowledges the cancer burden with estimated 39,000 new cases diagnosed and 27,000 deaths per annum. Mortality can be reduced if cancer is diagnosed early and with appropriate treatment. Health Literacy (HL) about cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment is important in reducing mortality, but there is little understanding about HL levels, experiences of patients diagnosed with breast and cervical cancer and the contexts in which they make decisions. In this study, health literacy is defined as the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, communicate, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. This exploratory qualitative study investigated the HL experiences of accessing and using health information in women with any stage of breast or cervical cancer presenting at the Aga Khan University Hospital (private) or Kenyatta National Hospital (public) in Nairobi, Kenya. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews from a purposive sample of 18 women. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and the Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative studies guidelines guided data analysis. The findings may aid development of patient education tools and determine effective ways of communicating cancer-related health information to improve the knowledge and health-seeking behaviours of Kenyan women. This project identified sociocultural beliefs and factors that influence how women understand information provided by healthcare professionals. Themes that arose included but were not limited to: fear, despair and agony at diagnosis, faith, social support, side effects, cancer-related stigma and financial burden of cancer as a barrier to getting information.
AB - Breast and cervical cancer are among the leading causes of cancer-related deaths globally. In Kenya, delayed presentation and diagnosis contribute to breast and cervical cancer mortality. The Kenyan government acknowledges the cancer burden with estimated 39,000 new cases diagnosed and 27,000 deaths per annum. Mortality can be reduced if cancer is diagnosed early and with appropriate treatment. Health Literacy (HL) about cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment is important in reducing mortality, but there is little understanding about HL levels, experiences of patients diagnosed with breast and cervical cancer and the contexts in which they make decisions. In this study, health literacy is defined as the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, communicate, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. This exploratory qualitative study investigated the HL experiences of accessing and using health information in women with any stage of breast or cervical cancer presenting at the Aga Khan University Hospital (private) or Kenyatta National Hospital (public) in Nairobi, Kenya. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews from a purposive sample of 18 women. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and the Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative studies guidelines guided data analysis. The findings may aid development of patient education tools and determine effective ways of communicating cancer-related health information to improve the knowledge and health-seeking behaviours of Kenyan women. This project identified sociocultural beliefs and factors that influence how women understand information provided by healthcare professionals. Themes that arose included but were not limited to: fear, despair and agony at diagnosis, faith, social support, side effects, cancer-related stigma and financial burden of cancer as a barrier to getting information.
KW - Breast cancer
KW - Cervical cancer
KW - Health information
KW - Health literacy
KW - Newly diagnosed cancer
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85125042783
U2 - 10.3332/ECANCER.2022.1350
DO - 10.3332/ECANCER.2022.1350
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85125042783
SN - 1754-6605
VL - 16
SP - 1
EP - 21
JO - ecancermedicalscience
JF - ecancermedicalscience
M1 - 1350
ER -
SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being