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Assessment of palliative care needs of patients/families living with cancer in a developing country
Author(s) -
Ndiok Akon,
Ncama Busisiwe
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of caring sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.678
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1471-6712
pISSN - 0283-9318
DOI - 10.1111/scs.12568
Subject(s) - medicine , palliative care , family medicine , descriptive statistics , disease , distress , needs assessment , cancer , descriptive research , health care , nursing , clinical psychology , social science , statistics , mathematics , sociology , economics , economic growth
Purpose The study seeks to assess the care needs of oncology in‐patients and clinic attendees or families in two tertiary health institutions. Methods This was a descriptive study which utilised a quantitative survey questionnaire of all cancer patients diagnosed between January 2014 and September 2016 (n = 547) with the return rate (n = 455) representing 82%. The questionnaire explored assessment of palliative care need. These instruments were used, because patients with cancer and their families are reluctant to talk about the disease. Using a questionnaire was therefore the best means of obtaining their full participation. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics to identify the highest need of patients with cancer patients. The study was approved by the two participating hospitals and the Human and Social Sciences Research Ethics of University of KwaZulu‐Natal. Findings The study found that most common needs of patients were information on possibilities of treatment and side effects (92.8%), diagnosis (91.6%), testing (91.1%) and physical symptoms (90.9%). There were also other needs, such as psychological, spiritual and financial needs, related to factors causing distress to patients and their families following diagnosis of cancer. Conclusions This article focused on needs as expressed by patients and families and offers a useful guide to develop a model for integration of palliative care activities. The findings reveal that patients who are undergoing follow‐up care and cancer treatment or investigation are clearly concerned about receiving information on a range of cancer issues. We therefore conclude that patients are able to deal with the disease more effectively when hospitals set up a palliative care team or unit to carry out proper assessment of patients living with cancer.