Background Globally, prostate cancer ranks as the second most frequently diagnosed cancer among men with the highest mortality rates being in Asia and Africa. The screening rates have been very low among men from developing countries with the majority presenting in advanced stages of the disease. The study aimed to assess the awareness of prostate cancer and screening among men aged 40–69 years in a rural community in Kenya. Methods This cross-sectional mixed-method survey was conducted among men aged 40–69 years. Data were collected using a pretested questionnaire among 576 men and a Focus Group Discussion guide among 44 men. The study was conducted in all the community units in Gatundu North and Kiambu Sub-counties, Kenya. Results Five hundred and seventy-six men participated with a response rate of 100%. Of the men interviewed, 84% had ever heard of prostate cancer. Slightly below half (40.6%) of the respondents had ever heard of prostate cancer screening. There was the existence of myths and misconceptions which predominantly associated prostate cancer with sexual behaviors. Overall, 57.3% of the respondents had a low level of awareness of prostate cancer. The prevalence of prostate cancer screening was 5%. Willingness to undergo screening in the future was high (81%) among the participants. The most frequently cited (56.9%) reason for lack of willingness to screen was the participant’s belief that they were well. Participants who were aware of prostate cancer screening were more likely to take up screening (OR = 8.472; 95% CI: 1.554- 46.186; P = 0.014). Conclusion Awareness of prostate cancer symptoms, treatment, and screening was low with the existence of myths and misconceptions. The level of prostate cancer screening was abysmally low. It is vital for the Ministry of Health, county governments, and other stakeholders to consider the use of multifaceted approaches to increase public awareness on prostate cancer to enhance informed shared decision making. The study provides relevant information for designing prevention and control programs for prostate cancer.
Objective: Globally, cancer incidence is on the increase and cancer care is complex, psychologically, physically and financially draining. Family caregivers of patients with cancer in low-and middle-income countries not only face enormous challenges in having their patients access comprehensive cancer treatment services but also the critical and complex roles that they play greatly predispose them to role strain.Role strain is multifaceted and encompasses physical, psycho-social and financial strain. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the level of role strain among the family caregivers of patients with cancer and ensure appropriate referral to care and support services. Methodology:The study adopted cross-sectional design involving 255 systematically sampled family caregivers of adult patients attending Kenyatta National Hospital outpatient cancer treatment clinic. Quantitative data from Modified Caregiver Strain Index tool and questionnaire was analysed by deriving descriptive statistics and data was presented by use of tables and figures. SPSS software version 25 was utilized in data analysis.Results: From the study findings, the family caregivers who had mild, moderate and severe role strain were 25.9%, 44.3% and 29.8%, respectively. Conclusion:Role strain was prevalent among family caregivers and this, therefore, calls for healthcare practitioners to assess all family caregivers of adult patients with cancer for role strain and appropriately refer those experiencing moderate to severe strain for psychological counselling, social and financial support.
Introduction: Cancer diagnosis and treatment are emotionally draining to patients and their caregivers. For a long time, treatment for cancer has been associated with pain, suffering and death. These negative consequences of cancer create psychosocial effects such as anxiety and fear. Therefore, there is need to recognize and accurately identify this psychosocial distress problems on patients with cancer by healthcare providers to figure out interventions for these psychosocial issues.Objective: To assess the psychosocial distress among patients with cancer attending the Machakos county referral hospital palliative care unit.Subjects and Methods: Data were collected through descriptive cross-sectional design where a total of 97 patients were interviewed and filled the questionnaires and the National Cancer Center Network distress thermometer and problem list. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for windows version 24. Descriptive statistics such as the means, standard deviation and frequencies were generated and Pearson Chi square test of association computed to determine the associations between the independent and the dependent variables. The confidence interval was set at 95% (p≤ 0.05).Results: The study findings revealed that 72.2% of the respondents were distressed. Majority (83.3%) of the respondents reported being in pain, 64.9% of them cited problems with decision making about treatment, while 59.8% of the respondents said that they were experiencing fatigue. Other issues cited by the respondents included financial constraints and facing difficulties while eating. The study results also showed that there was statistically significant association between having psychosocial distress and gender (P=0.015) and cancer treatment (P=0.015).Conclusion: There is a very high prevalence of psychosocial distress among patients with cancer with the leading psychosocial distress problem being pain.
Background: Prostate cancer (PC) is curable with early detection, yet it remains a major public health problem globally and a leading cause of mortality among men. The objective of the study was to explore the barriers and facilitators to the uptake of prostate cancer screening among men aged 40–69 years in a rural community in Kenya. Methods: We utilized an explorative qualitative design and purposive sampling to select participants. Six focus group discussions (FGDs) and seven in-depth interviews were conducted among 59 men aged 40–69 years and key informants in Kiambu County, Kenya. Data was collected using a semi-structured guide and content analysis was done. Results: The facilitators of screening included experience of symptoms, proximity and prominence of cancer, accessibility, and advocacy. The barriers to screening included lack of knowledge, fatalistic beliefs, low risk perception, stigma, and male dominance factors. Conclusion: This study provides vital information for the development of interventions to enhance shared decision-making in regard to PC screening. Capacity building of clinicians, task shifting and provision of well-coordinated affordable culturally sensitive screening services should be explored. The concerted effort among policy makers and all health care workers to overcome the stated barriers to screening is highly recommended.
Background. Globally, an increase in mortality from prostate cancer (PC) remains a big challenge with disparities existing with a slight preponderance among men in low and middle-income countries. Prostate cancer is a leading cause of mortality among men in sub-Saharan Africa. In Kenya, despite the majority of men presenting with advanced prostate cancer for treatment, knowledge and screening for prostate cancer is low. The study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a community health worker-led education intervention on knowledge, perception, and PC screening. Methods. This was a quasiexperimental study among Kenyan men aged 40–69 years. The intervention site was Gatundu North subcounty and the control site was Kiambu subcounty in Kiambu County. Stratified random sampling was applied to select 288 respondents per arm of the study. We used a pretested interviewer-administered questionnaire to collect data at baseline and 6 months postintervention. Pearson’s chi-square test was used for data analysis. Results. Awareness of prostate cancer significantly increased postintervention P < 0.05 . The proportion of respondents who had good knowledge of prostate cancer increased significantly from 49% to 76.4% P < 0.05 in the intervention arm. The proportion of respondents with a high perception of self-vulnerability increased significantly from 26% to 42.1% P < 0.05 . The proportion of men who had undergone PC screening significantly increased from 4.5% to 20.4% P < 0.05 in the intervention arm. In postintervention, there was a statistically significant difference in the proportion of men screened for prostate cancer in the intervention and control arm P < 0.05 . Conclusion. Health education by community health workers during household visits increased awareness and knowledge, perception, and uptake of PC screening. Utilization of community health worker delivered education is an effective strategy that requires to be adopted to enhance screening.
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