Nyongole Obadia, Kakoko Deodatus, Sirili Nathanael, Frumence Gasto, Simba Daudi, Urassa David, Sunguya Bruno
Department of Surgery, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Department of Community Health, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Front Oncol. 2024 Dec 9;14:1492302. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1492302. eCollection 2024.
Prostate cancer is a common cancer among men globally and its treatment affects quality of life. Poor patients' perception of prostate cancer services may lead to their late presentation for care, often presenting with the advanced stage of the disease. This may vary from one region to another.
This study, therefore, aimed to explore patients' perceptions of the quality of care for prostate cancer in Tanzania.
This qualitative case study was conducted in five tertiary hospitals in Tanzania in November 2023. In-depth interviews were conducted with prostate cancer patients on treatment for not less than 6 months. Data on patients' perception of prostate cancer, quality of prostate cancer services, and quality of life among prostate cancer patients were collected. Thematic analysis used a hybrid inductive and deductive reasoning approach through NVivo 14 software.
A total of 17 interviews were conducted, resulting in four themes. These were perception of prostate cancer on the causes and diagnostic methods, delays of care leading to late presentation, perception of quality of life after treatment for prostate cancer recovery versus cancer progression, and quality of service in terms of organization of service delivery for prostate cancer at tertiary hospitals in Tanzania.
Quality of services for prostate cancer was well-perceived, especially communication for psychosocial support. A good perception of the quality of service was found to influence the uptake of prostate cancer services. Prostate cancer patients have mixed perceptions about the quality of life after treatment, which delays health seeking, leading to late presentation. Despite efforts in awareness campaigns through different platforms, more effort is needed in determining the causes of prostate cancer, the diagnostic/screening methods necessary for prostate cancer, timely health seeking, the available treatment options for prostate cancer, and the expected quality of life after treatment.
前列腺癌是全球男性中常见的癌症，其治疗会影响生活质量。患者对前列腺癌服务的认知不佳可能导致他们延迟就医，往往在疾病晚期才就诊。这种情况可能因地区而异。
因此，本研究旨在探讨坦桑尼亚患者对前列腺癌护理质量的看法。
这项定性案例研究于2023年11月在坦桑尼亚的五家三级医院进行。对接受前列腺癌治疗不少于6个月的患者进行了深入访谈。收集了患者对前列腺癌的认知、前列腺癌服务质量以及前列腺癌患者生活质量的数据。主题分析通过NVivo 14软件采用归纳和演绎相结合的推理方法。
共进行了17次访谈，得出四个主题。这些主题分别是对前列腺癌病因和诊断方法的认知、导致延迟就诊的护理延误、前列腺癌治疗后康复与癌症进展情况下对生活质量的认知，以及坦桑尼亚三级医院前列腺癌服务提供组织方面的服务质量。
前列腺癌服务质量得到了较好的认知度，尤其是心理社会支持方面的沟通。良好的服务质量认知被发现会影响前列腺癌服务的接受度。前列腺癌患者对治疗后的生活质量看法不一，这导致他们延迟就医，从而导致就诊延迟。尽管通过不同平台开展了提高认识的活动，但在确定前列腺癌的病因、前列腺癌所需的诊断/筛查方法、及时就医、前列腺癌的可用治疗选择以及治疗后的预期生活质量方面仍需做出更多努力。
