Solomon Kalkidan, Tamire Mulugeta, Solomon Nahom, Bililign Nigus, Kaba Mirgissa
Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Department of Public Health, School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Mizan Tepi University, Mizan-Aman, Ethiopia.
Int J Womens Health. 2023 Feb 15;15:299-309. doi: 10.2147/IJWH.S395824. eCollection 2023.
Morbidity and mortality from female cancers is a major public health problem in low- and middle-income countries, including Ethiopia. More than three quarters of women visiting health facilities are diagnosed with late-stage cervical and breast cancer. Evidence reveals that misconception affects timely health seeking behavior which could have averted expensive treatment and poor survival. This study aimed to explore misconceptions about female cancers that may have contributed to late presentation of the problem to health facilities in Sidama region, Ethiopia.
A descriptive qualitative study was carried out in June 2021. Nine focus group discussions (six with women and three with men) and 14 key informants were conducted. Data were collected using interview guide until all information get saturated. Data were inductively coded and qualitative content analysis was applied.
A total of 63 (24 men and 39 women) people participated in this study. Nearly all (12) key informant interviewees have awareness about cervical and breast cancer, yet reported that their community members clearly lack awareness and they are working to improve misconceptions regarding cervical and breast cancer. The focus group discussion participants (15 men and 36 women) reported lack of detailed information related to cervical and breast cancer. Women believe that cervical and breast cancer mainly resulted from poor hygiene, trauma, having multiple sexual partners, early marriage, breast exposure to heat, not breast feeding, birth complication, urinating in the sun, hereditary, devil's intrusion and God's punishment.
There were misconceptions among the community on what cervical and breast cancer mean, how they could happen, what the symptoms are, why and when to screen, when to seek health care and how to use modern treatment options. Therefore, we recommended the design of social and behavioral change strategies to address the misconceptions among different population groups.
在包括埃塞俄比亚在内的低收入和中等收入国家，女性癌症的发病率和死亡率是一个重大的公共卫生问题。前往医疗机构就诊的女性中，超过四分之三被诊断为晚期宫颈癌和乳腺癌。有证据表明，误解会影响及时就医行为，而及时就医本可避免昂贵的治疗费用和较差的生存率。本研究旨在探讨关于女性癌症的误解，这些误解可能导致埃塞俄比亚锡达马地区的女性癌症问题未能及时在医疗机构得到诊治。
2021年6月开展了一项描述性定性研究。进行了9次焦点小组讨论（6次针对女性，3次针对男性），并访谈了14名关键信息提供者。使用访谈指南收集数据，直至所有信息饱和。对数据进行归纳编码并应用定性内容分析。
共有63人（24名男性和39名女性）参与了本研究。几乎所有（12名）关键信息提供者受访者都了解宫颈癌和乳腺癌，但表示他们所在社区的成员明显缺乏认识，他们正在努力改善对宫颈癌和乳腺癌的误解。焦点小组讨论参与者（15名男性和36名女性）表示缺乏与宫颈癌和乳腺癌相关的详细信息。女性认为宫颈癌和乳腺癌主要由卫生习惯差、外伤、多个性伴侣、早婚、乳房受热、不母乳喂养、分娩并发症、在阳光下小便、遗传、恶魔入侵和上帝惩罚导致。
社区对宫颈癌和乳腺癌的含义、如何发生、症状是什么、为何及何时进行筛查、何时寻求医疗护理以及如何使用现代治疗方法存在误解。因此，我们建议设计社会和行为改变策略，以消除不同人群中的误解。
