Information Needs of Breast Cancer Patients at Cancer Diseases Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia

摘要

Background: Breast cancer is the second most common cancerworldwide and the second most common among Zambian women.Breast cancer diagnosis being a stressful experience, causes psychological andemotional disruption that can be abated by meeting information needs of theaffected patients. In light of the escalating cases of Breast cancer among theZambian women, the study examined a special aspect of cancer management whichis usually neglected in most cases. Aim: The main objective of the studywas to assess information needs of breastcancer patients at the Cancer Diseases Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia usinga modified structured interview schedule adopted from the Toronto Information Needs Questionnaire-Breast Cancer(TINQ-BC). Methods: A descriptivecross-sectional design was used to elicit the information needs of breast cancer patients. One hundred and ten (97% response rate) participants were selected using simple random sampling method and data was collected using a modified structuredinterview schedule adopted from the Toronto Information NeedsQuestionnaire-Breast Cancer (TINQ-BC). Stata 10.0(StataCorp, 2008) was employed for all quantitative data analysis and graphicalpresentation of data. Results: The overall score for information needs was obtained by adding thescores across all the five information needs categories which were further divided into three categories namely: low importantscores, of less than 50%, moderately important scores of 50% - 70% andhighly important scores ranged above 70% of the 200 total scores. Out of the110 participants recruited, 88 (80%)indicated that the information across the five categories was moderatelyimportant. Logistic regression of information needs and posited determinantsrevealed that anxiety levels; education level; presence of co-morbidity; andbeing on treatment were significant determinants of patients’ informationalneeds (Effect’s p ≤ 0.05). Conclusion: The findings of this studysupport the idea that breast cancer patients are seeking more information ontheir illness, hence information provision is one of the most important factors for providing high qualitycancer care across the whole cancer continuum. Therefore, appreciatingthe information needs of breast cancer patients is substantial in improvingcare.