The Social Issues among Adult Cancer Patients Attending Oncology Clinic at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Eldoret, Kenya (Published)
Cancer diagnosis is associated with increased chance of developing social issues that impact on patient’s health state and medical treatment. The number of people diagnosed with cancer is on the increase every year in the developing countries with no exception of Kenya. The burden of cancer continues to grow. However, as much as social issues among adult cancer patients are well documented in the rest of the world, Kenya has little amount of data in place. A critical part of cancer care is the recognition of the levels of social problems that present among patients with cancer and determination of the appropriate form of intervention, ranging from brief counselling or social interventions and social support to medication and specific coping styles. This paper sought to determine the social issues among adult cancer patients seen at the oncology clinic of Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), Eldoret. Focus was on the social issues that are associated with cancer diagnosis and socio-demographic characteristics and clinical state of the patients diagnosed with cancer. This was a cross-sectional and descriptive study. The respondents included patients diagnosed with cancer who were enrolled and interviewed using researcher designed socio-demographic and clinical questionnaire and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for adults (M.I.N.I Plus) instruments. A total of 138 respondents participated in the study. The participants were assessed upon an informed consent and ethical approval from Institutional Research and Ethics Committee (IREC) Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) Moi University and Ethics and Research Committee Kenyatta National Hospital/ University of Nairobi.Microsoft excel worksheet and Statistical packages for social sciences (SPSS) version 16.0 were used for analysis. Females represented a higher number of cancer patients than male. Breast cancer and cervical cancer were the most common forms of cancer with most participants being in the advanced stages; between stage III and IV. Social phobia, obsessive compulsive disorder, generalised anxiety disorder, hypomanic episodes and manic episodes were the most observed social disorders.
Keywords: Adjustment, Cancer, Hormonal Therapy, Medical-Chemotherapy, Radiation Therapy, Social Support, Surgical