Treatment refusal and abandonment in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia in Indonesia: an analysis of causes and consequences

Abstract

Reducing treatment abandonment of childhood ALL in developing countries requires not only financial and transportation support, but also parental education, counseling and psychosocial support during therapy, improvement of quality-of-care and adequate management of side effects.

The management of children with Kaposi sarcoma in resource limited settings

“…If possible free medical treatment and social support including money for travel should be given to impoverished families. Poor families frequently abandon treatments because of financial and social constraints and efforts to reduce this improve outcomes [19][20][21].…”

Psychosocial and cultural reasons for delay in seeking help and nonadherence to treatment in Indonesian women with breast cancer: A qualitative study.

“…Up until now, the general adherence rate in Indonesian cancer population is not known. However, one study in childhood leukemia found that 25% of patients refused or abandoned therapy (Sitaresmi, Mostert, Schook, Sutaryo, & Veerman, 2010). A study in retinoblastoma patients found that 31.5% of patients temporarily refused medical treatment, whereas 18.2% refused treatment permanently (Sitorus et al, 2009).…”

“…Marked by a high degree of religious, cultural, and social diversity, Indonesia provides a unique sociocultural environment which influences people's perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors in daily life (Sitorus & Budhwar, 2003). Previous studies about treatment refusal in retinoblastoma patients and childhood leukemia patients found that psychosocial factors such as beliefs about the incurability of cancer, belief in alternative treatments and dissatisfaction with health care providers were frequently reported by patients as reasons for nonadherence (Sitaresmi et al, 2010;Sitorus et al, 2009). To the best of our knowledge, qualitative research that systematically explores the psychosocial and cultural factors for nonadherence in Indonesian women with breast cancer patients has never been conducted.…”

Detection of CD10, CD34 and their combined expression on Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and the association with clinical outcome in Indonesia

“…Sitaresmi et al 2009, found that reasons for treatment refusal or abandonment were: financial and transport difficulties, beliefs about curability and side-effects, children's refusal, and dissatisfaction with health-care providers [21].…”