Adherence to Locally Advanced Cervical Cancer Treatment Timeliness at Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi City County, Kenya
Abstract:
Globally, cervical cancer is the fifth commonest cancer diagnosed in women with an annual incidence of 604,0000 cases and 280,000 mortalities. 85% of these mortalities occur in Sub- Saharan Africa. In Kenya, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer related fatality. At Kenyatta National Hospital, locally advanced cervical cancer stages and high disease recurrences are prevalent. The broad objective was to determine factors that influence chemoradiotherapy and intracavity brachytherapy treatment turnaround time for locally advanced cervical cancer patients at Kenyatta National Hospital. Analytical cross sectional research design with mixed method was used. Data collection was from July 2023 to June 2024. The sample population was 233 participants based on Fisher et al. formula. Patients were selected through systematic random sampling method. Structured checklists were used to obtain information from patient files. In-depth interviews for purposively sampled key informants were done for the qualitative arm. Informed consent, privacy and confidentiality were maintained throughout the study. Thematic analysis was done for qualitative data. Descriptive and inferential analysis was done using SPSS version 25. The study findings revealed advancing age ≥ 65 years, monthly-income ≤Ksh.10,000, weak social-support network, cancer-stages IIIC and IVA, poor Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG), HIV-morbidity and machine failure attributed to prolonged cervical-cancer treatment turnaround time. Locally advanced cervical cancer mean treatment duration at Kenyatta National Hospital was 68.66 days, 12.66 days negative-deviation from the recommended ≤ 56 days by National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines. In conclusion,several sociodemographic, hospital and patient disease related factors influence cervical cancer treatment turnaround time at Kenyatta National Hospital.References:
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